Latest data released by ONS - 14 June 2018
- Prior +1.6%; revised to +1.8%
- Retail sales +3.9% vs +2.4% y/y expected
- Prior +1.4%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) +1.3% vs +0.3% m/m expected
- Prior +1.3%; revised to +1.4%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) +4.4% vs +2.5% y/y expected
- Prior +1.5%; revised to +1.4%
Major beats across the board for the data, with some positive revisions as well.
Cable with a bit of a jolt to hit a high of 1.3440. Looks like the Royal Wedding paid off, eh? Looking into the details, ONS says that good weather and the Royal Wedding celebrations boosted spending on food and household goods in May.
The readings here are relatively solid, with the core retail sales yearly estimate being the strongest since December 2016. And the headline yearly estimate shows the biggest jump since April 2017.
I don't think this changes the picture all too much though. With real wages still not going anywhere any time soon, it's a temporary bump to retail/consumer spending - but the underlying weakness/problem still persists.
Yes, it's a much needed relief relative to Q1's abysmal data - but that's what it is. Q1 was that bad that it makes this look good but for me, I don't believe the BOE can do anything with this data alone.