UK retail sales declined unexpectedly in March
The UK retail sales declined unexpectedly in March, thus fueling fears that the economy begins to lose its bullish momentum in the first quarter. The index decreased by 0.5% compared to February, while analysts had forecast growth slowdown from a revised 0.6% to 0.4%. Excluding automotive fuel, retail sales still recorded an increase of 0.2%. […]
The UK retail sales declined unexpectedly in March, thus fueling fears that the economy begins to lose its bullish momentum in the first quarter.
The index decreased by 0.5% compared to February, while analysts had forecast growth slowdown from a revised 0.6% to 0.4%. Excluding automotive fuel, retail sales still recorded an increase of 0.2%. There is a recovery is purchases of clothing and household goods, while food is a growth of 0.4%. The increase in sales in the first quarter amounted to 0.9%, while those in Q4 2014 reached 2.2%.
Moreover, today it became clear that the budget deficit in March is the lowest for March in last 11 years. The net borrowing of the public sector, excluding banks amounted to 7.4 billion GBP. The revenues increased by 3% and costs shrank by 3.1%. Thus, the deficit for the fiscal year has amounted to 87.3 billion GBP, which is less than projected 90.2 billion GBP.
