MNI: 5 Things We Learned From UK Retail Sales>

By Laurie Laird and Jamie Satchithanantham

     LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the November 

retail sales data published Thursday by the Office for National 

Statistics.

     - Retail sales are poised to contribute positively to gross 

domestic product in the fourth quarter, after a 1.1% jump in November 

and an upward revision to October data. Retail sales represent 5.4% of 

GDP.  

     - Sales volumes could fall by 3.0% between November and December 

and leave the sector flat on Q3. Sales last fell by more than 3% in 

January of 2010. 

     - National Statistics official admitted to "challenges" in 

seasonally adjusting November retail data, given the changing nature of 

Black Friday, which has extended from a day to as long as two weeks for 

some retailers. 

     - Household good sales fuelled much of the November gain -- 

particularly electronic goods -- taking sales of household goods up 3.6% 

in the three months to November over the previous rolling three-month 

period, the biggest rise since the three months to February of 2014.     

     - Retail prices continue to climb, with the implied deflator rising 

by 3.1%, matching the October gain, but the fourth straight month above 

3%. 

-London bureau: 44 (0) 203 865 3812; email: ukeditorial@marketnews.com 

[TOPICS: M$B$$$,MABDS$]