UK retail sales unexpectedly fall in January

Figures continue to fall…

Retail sales unexpectedly dipped in January, this follows on from the fall in December.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that retail volumes dropped by 0.3 per cent compared with the previous month.

This figure is well below the 0.9 per cent rise which was predicted.

The ONS stated that this is the first signs of fall in an underlying trend since December 2013.

Evidence suggested that higher food and fuel prices could be the culprit.

Compared with January 2015, sales were up by 1.5 per cent, this is the weakest performance since November 2013.

Kate Davies, senior statistician at the ONS, said: “In the three months to January 2017, retail sales saw the first signs of a fall in the underlying trend since December 2013.”

“We have seen falls in month-on-month seasonally adjusted retail sales, both in conventional stores and online, and the evidence suggests that increased prices in fuel and food are significant factors in this slowdown.”