Some perhaps encouraging headline data out of the UK, but the details are not so hot. Info via Reuters.
British Retail Consortium data:
- total sales at chain stores +2.7% y/y in September, from +4.1% in August
- like-for-like sales measure - which adjusts for changes in store space - slowed to show growth of 2.8% from 4.3% in August
- "Sales growth in September slowed as the high cost of living continues to bear down on households," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said, citing the recent increase in the price of petrol and diesel as well as a rise in housing costs.
- Expensive items such as furniture and electricals performed particularly poorly while last month's warm weather hit sales of autumnal clothing, Dickinson said.
-
Separate data from Barclays showed the pace of annual growth in the amount of money spent on credit and debit cards increased to 4.2% in September from August's 2.8% rise
- the acceleration was largely due to higher outlays on motor fuel
- Jack Meaning, chief UK economist at Barclays, said the warning signs of wariness among consumers was filtering through into their spending decisions. "This suggests the outlook for consumers, and the businesses that rely on them, is weak, even as they finally see their disposable incomes rise faster than inflation," Meaning said. "It makes it hard to see anything but a relatively stagnant economy on the horizon."
