United Kingdom: Retail sales growth improves in August
Latest reading: Retail sales expanded 1.0% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in August (July: +0.7% mom), more than double market expectations. In particular, supermarkets and clothing retailers reported a boost to sales thanks to warmer weather and end-of-season sales.
On an annual basis, retail sales rose at a faster rate of 2.5% in August (July: +1.5% yoy), the best result since February 2022. Accordingly, the trend improved modestly, with the annual average variation of retail sales coming in at minus 0.6%, up from July’s minus 0.9%.