Jan Retail Sales Surge on Heavy Discounting.>

UK DATA: Jan Retail Sales Surge on Heavy Discounting 

-UK Jan Total Retail Sales +1.0% m/m; +4.2% y/y; +0.7% 3m/3m

-UK Jan Retail Sales Ex-Fuel +1.2% m/m; +4.1% y/y; +0.4% 3m/3m

-UK Jan Retail Sales Price Deflator +0.4% y/y; Ex-Fuel +0.3% y/y 

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Retail sales growth far outpace the MNI median, growing by 1.0% m/m 

in January versus the MNI median of a modest 0.2% rise. December sales 

were revised upward by 0.2pp to show a 0.7% decline, meaning Q4 retail 

sales growth was flat as opposed to an original 0.2% decline. As MNI 

analysis has noted, retailers have been aggressively discounting prices 

to attract sales. The deflator grew by 0.4% y/y, its lowest reading 

since November 2016. Clothing and footwear promotions outstripped the 

January seasonal adjustment, with the deflator down 0.9% y/y, 

translating into sales volume growth of 2.1% m/m. Predominantly food 

stores also grew by 1.2% as suggested by the KPMG-BRC survey.