UK December retail sales -0.3% vs +0.4% m/m expected

• Prior +0.2%; revised to +0.1%
• Retail sales +3.6% vs +4.2% y/y expected
• Prior +0.5%; revised to 0.0%
• Retail sales ex autos, fuel -0.6% vs +0.1% m/m expected
• Prior +0.3%; revised to +0.1%
• Retail sales ex autos, fuel +2.9% vs +3.6% y/y expected
• Prior +0.1%; revised to -0.5%

Ouch. And to think that the November report didn’t capture the full extent of Black Friday sales and yet the December reading was an even softer one. When taking the level of retail sales we’re seeing, volumes are still down by 2.5% compared to February 2020 i.e. before the Covid pandemic struck.

It’s not a good look on household demand as even the build up to the holiday period was a softer one. Trouble, trouble. Here’s the breakdown for the month:

GBP/USD is now down 0.4% to 1.2185 on the day, slipping further in threatening a firmer drop below 1.2200 on the week now.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.