UK Retail Sales Slow Down in May

June 18, 2015 Share Print 0

UK retail sales rose by 0.2% in May, a slowdown from a rise of 0.9% in April, after shoppers bought fewer clothes.

The Office for National Statistics said clothing sales were 1.6% down on April’s level, the biggest fall since September 2014. The fall included a drop in internet clothing sales.

Economists had expected retail sales to be flat in May after sales in April were boosted by unusually warm weather.

By contrast, May was cooler than normal.

Food stores had a good month, with volumes up 0.6%, the biggest increase since December. Household goods stores and petrol stations also saw growth.

Some economists have predicted that UK consumer spending could be on track for a strong year as low inflation and rising wages give households more disposable income.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.