UK Retail Sales Drop 0.4% in February

UK retail sales volumes declined by 0.4 percent in February, marking the first drop in three months, as wet weather and weaker supermarket spending curbed consumer purchases, official data showed Friday.

The Office for National Statistics reported the month-on-month decrease, which was milder than economists' forecast of a 0.7 percent fall. This followed a revised 2.0 percent increase in January, the strongest monthly growth since May 2024. On a yearly basis, sales growth slowed to 2.5 percent from 4.8 percent in January. Excluding automotive fuel, sales also fell 0.4 percent monthly, beating expectations of a 0.8 percent decline, while annual growth came in at 3.4 percent, down from 5.9 percent.

The downturn affected several sectors, including food stores, where sales dropped 0.7 percent, and household goods retailers, which saw a 2.6 percent decline. Supermarket spending weakened after consumers front-loaded purchases in January to capitalize on discounts. Unusually heavy rainfall, recorded above average by the Met Office, kept shoppers indoors and reduced footfall at shopping centers by 5.5 percent and high streets by 5.4 percent, according to the British Retail Consortium....