ONS - Jan 22
- Prior -3.8% revised to-4.1 %
- Retail sales 2.9% vs +4.0%% y/y expected
- Prior +2.4%; revised to 2.1%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) 0.4% vs -1.0% m/m expected
- Prior -2.6%; revised to -3.0%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) 6.4% vs +7.4 % y/y expected
- Prior +5.6%;revised to +5.3%
A softer headline print and downward revisions send the GBP lower. The lockdowns resulted in Christmas spending being spread out over a longer period and this has meant a softer December sales reading for the UK
ONS:
- Largest annual fall in sales in history
- Online values increased by 46.1% in 2020 when compared with 2019
- Clothing stores down -25.1%
- Fuel stores down -22.2%
- Department stores down -5.2%
GBPUSD down circa 15 points on the print. A terrible report and worse than expected. However, not a massive surprise with the UK going back into lockdowns in December.
