- Prior +1.4%
- Retail sales -0.9% y/y
- Prior +4.7%
- Retail sales ex fuel -3.6% vs -0.5% m/m expected
- Prior +1.1%
- Retail sales ex fuel -3.0% y/y
- Prior +2.7%
That is a big miss on retail sales but the bright side is that, overall volumes were still seen 2.6% higher than pre-pandemic i.e. February 2020 levels. That said, the drop in December is less encouraging for recovery signs in the economy as the omicron wave impacted activity for the most part.
Non-food store sales fell by 7.1% after a solid performance in November, with a fall observed in each of its sub-sectors i.e. department stores, clothing stores, other non-food stores and household stores.
It's a pretty dismal report but one that won't derail the BOE from hiking rates in two weeks in order to combat inflation.
