Looming austerity measures and economic headwinds in the U.K. and tight households budgets led to the largest annual drop in retail spending in 16 years to close the first quarter, according to Financial Times. On Tuesday, the British Retail Consortium reported that total sales on high street dropped by 1.9% from the same time one year earlier, which is the worst figure on records dating back to 1995. The data was made worse by a later Easter holiday this year than last, although Helen Dickinson of KPMG said, “Since January, the trend has been a slow, downward one and we are still on it.”
Meanwhile, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that home prices inched up in February, with the percentage of surveyors reporting lower rather than higher prices narrowing to 23% from 26% previously. The increase in prices came as the volume of demand shrank from January’s level. Separately, the Office for National Statistics reported that the U.K.’s deficit in the trade of goods with the rest of the world narrowed to £6.8 billion in February from £7.8 billion the month prior, while the overall deficit narrow to £2.4 billion from £3.9 billion the previous month.
Click here to read the story on retail sales from Financial Times.
Click here for coverage of the trade deficit from Financial Times.