UK retail sales slump for May

Retail sales in the UK were down by 0.6% between April and May, recent figures have shown.

The results, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), have quashed early hopes that the UK could soon emerge from recession. The ONS also said that the figures were 1.6% lower than those in May 2008.

Howard Archer, Chief UK and European Economist at financial analysts IHS Global Insight, has said that the UK economy still has a long way to go before it stabilises:

"The marked fall in retail sales in May is a reality check that the UK economy is still in a very fragile state and serious obstacles remain.

"Indeed, while consumers are benefiting from the boost to their purchasing power coming from sharply reduced mortgage payments and retreating inflation, they are under serious pressure from a number of factors - most notably, including elevated and rising unemployment, markedly reduced earnings growth and heightened debt levels."

Tarlok Teji, Head of Retail at Deloitte, said that while the good weather experienced so far this year has handed DIY and gardening retailers some hope, the year-on-year fall in retail figures ‘paints a bleaker picture'.

The retail findings from the ONS have paired up with the British Retail Consortium's index, which showed -0.8% for like-for-like sales for the same month.

22/06/09