UK April retail sales data release is due on 24 May
And it's not going to be a report that will help to convince the market that the UK economy is headed for improvement in Q2. Expectation is for core retail sales (ex autos and fuel) to come in at +0.4% y/y while the headline retail sales reading is expected at +0.2% y/y.
Those are drops compared to the +1.1% y/y readings on both counts from March. And if within expectations, they will mark the weakest year-on-year print since October last year.
If proxy data is to go by, the report should continue to highlight weak demand to start Q2. And that won't be the kind of report the BOE is hoping for on a week which also includes April's inflation report and the second reading of Q1 GDP among the key releases.
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