Conflicting headlines out of the UK:
- British retail consortium August total sales +4.1% y/y vs July +1.5%
- British retail consortium August like-for-like sales +4.3% y/y vs July +1.8%
- Barclay UK August consumer spending +2.8% y/y vs July +4.0%
- the bank blamed on a continuation of the previous month's rainy weather
- Barclays: spending on essentials grew at slowest pace since April 2020, due to lower fuel spending
BRC comment:
- "As the rate of price rises falls, so will the extra spending needed by consumers. As a result, sales growth may fall in the coming months, even if volume growth does not,"
Barclays:
- "Muted spending growthh in August is in line with other data sources, such as soft PMIs and stalling consumer confidence, suggesting that the bite from monetary tightening is starting to be felt more acutely,"
GBP dribbled a few tics lower:
