MNI 5 THINGS: One-off Events Fuel UK Q2 Retail Sales Surge

By Jai Lakhani, Jamie Satchi and Laurie Laird

     LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the ONS' retail sales

data published Thursday by the Office for National Statistics.

     - Despite concerns over stagnating real incomes, retail sales surged in the

second quarter, rising by 2.1%, the best performance in over fourteen years. The

sector is poised to add a robust 0.11pp to Q2 GDP.

     - Supermarket sales rose by a surprisingly-low 0.1% in June, despite the

football World Cup, but the rise came off a high base. Over the second quarter,

supermarket sales rose by 2.2%, the best calendar quarter outturn since Q1 2001.

     - However the unique events during the quarter, along with unseasonably

warm weather, reduced high street footfall. Consequently, non-food stores fell

1.1% in June but still rose 1.4% in Q2.

     - Reduced high street sales did not translate into higher online activity.

Internet sales values fell by 0.4% in June but remained at a record-high 18.0%

of all activity.

     - June's decline in core inflation was matched by the non-fuel implied

price deflator falling to the lowest level since February 2017. The index fell

0.4pp to 1.4%, while the total deflator slipped by a smaller 0.1pp to 2.3%.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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