UK data, BRC like-for-like retail sales (Feb) -0.1% y/y
- expected +0.1% y/y, prior +1.8%
total sales +0.5% y/y (prior +2.2%)
BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson:
- Uncertainty surrounding the UK's imminent exit from the European Union has hit consumer spending
- While real incomes have started to rise over the past year, shoppers have been reluctant to spend this February, holding back growth
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The "like-for-like" sales basis strips out changes in store size