UK DATA: May Retail Sales +1.4% m/m; +2.4% y/y; median 1.1% m/m;2.4% y/y
-May Retail Sales ex fuel 0.9% m/m; 3% y/y; median +1.0% m/m; +2.4% y/y
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Retail sales bounced back shraply in May following the poor April
weather, leaving underlying sales performing reasonably strongly.
Headline sales came in above median m/m while ex fuel sales were a
little below. The largest rise came from clothing and footwear where
volumes rose 3.4% m/m following the weather related 5.5% drop in April.
Overall, non-food sales volumes were up 1.3% between April and May,
while sales at predominantly food stores rose just 0.2%. The data don’t
alter the short-term outlook for monetary policy with most economists
now suggesting the Bank of England will add another Stg50 billion in
Quantitative Easing at the July Monetary Policy Committee meeting.