020 7898 0500It was hoped that UK retail sales would pick up in January after some disappointing figures in December. However, it wasn’t to be, as shoppers refrained from buying as much as expected. Food sales were down, but sports equipment purchases were up as the British public adhered to their resolutions. At least for now.
Sterling suffered as a result but it has been holding its own in 2018 to date. There are bound to be good days and bad days, but overall the picture isn’t as bleak as it might be. The question really is how the rest of the year will pan out. Wages are expected to grow and narrow the gap to inflation which should encourage more spending. Strange, how the dominoes stack up.
It is a quiet start to the week, but tomorrow we will see the CBI industrial trends orders for February and tomorrow sees the release of December’s unemployment rate. On Thursday we will see the second estimate for GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2017. That will give us an indication of how well the economy performed towards the end of last year, but if the retail sales are anything to go by, the picture might not be that rosy
