The volume of retail sales in the U.K. fell by more than double the amount expected in the month after holidays and warm weather boosted hopes that the sector was on pace for strong second quarter growth, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Industrial production in the U.K. fell by the most in one month in nearly two years due to a confluence of unusual factors, but still stoked concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, according to Financial Times.
The central bank of the U.K. has voted to maintain interest rates at the record low level that has been maintained for over two years as the economy continues to struggle to gain momentum, according to The Daily Telegraph.
A leading global ratings agency has warned U.K. leaders that the country’s top credit rating could be jeopardized by a failure to adhere to austerity plans aimed at slashing public debt, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The latest round of data has shown that the U.K. retail sector has started to slump as consumers cut back on spending, which also sent home prices to their lowest level in more than a year-and-a-half, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The rate at which producer prices have been increasing in the 17 countries that share the euro eased during the first month of the second quarter, although upwards pressure on consumer prices remains, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The construction sector in the U.K. expanded modestly in the latest month, offering a bit of consolation to economists worried about a recent swath of disappointing economic data, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Consumers in the U.K. are technically facing a double-dip recession as household spending posted its second consecutive quarter of contraction in the first three months of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Orders at factories in the 17 countries that share the euro decreased at the end of the first quarter by the largest amount in half a year, suggesting the sector’s rapid growth could be cooling, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Consumer confidence in the 17 countries that share the euro improved in the latest survey despite ongoing sovereign debt concerns, high unemployment, and mounting inflationary pressure and , according to The Wall Street Journal.
