Latest data released by ONS - 24 July 2020
- Prior +12.0%; revised to +12.3%
- Retail sales -1.6% vs -5.9% y/y expected
- Prior -13.1%; revised to -12.9%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) +13.5% vs +7.9% m/m expected
- Prior +10.2%; revised to +10.6%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) +1.7% vs -3.7% y/y expected
- Prior -9.8%; revised to -9.6%
Slight delay in the release by the source. Solid beats across the board as retail sales activity is seen improving significantly in May to June after the drop seen in March and April.
The positive takeaway from the report here is that compared to a year ago, consumption activity is almost pretty much back to "normal". For some context, the June retail sales volume is seen just 0.6% lower than in February.
In fact, the ex autos, fuel volume is 2.4% higher than levels seen in February.
However, how much of this relates to pent up demand remains to be seen. And Q2 retail sales as a whole is seen -9.5% q/q, so the overall picture isn't exactly too bright.
