MNI DATA IMPACT: UK Still Shopping Despite Brexit Gloom>

By Laurie Laird, Les Commons and Irene Prihoda

     LONDON (MNI) - UK consumers appeared undaunted by Brexit 

uncertainty through July, as retail sales far outpaced expectations. 

     The following are the key points from retail sales data 

published Thursday by the Office for National Statistics.

     - British consumers continued to splash out in July, countering 

corporate caution ahead of Brexit, providing arguably the only ray of 

light in a slowing economy.  

     - Retail sales rose by a modest 0.2% in July, confounding 

forecasts of a 0.2% decline. Growth over the three months to July 

slowed to 0.5%, the slowest pace since December, but remained in the 

black.

     - The July retail data provide some hope that consumer spending 

could prevent a second straight economic contraction in Q3. Consumer 

spending rose by 0.5% in Q2, even as business investment declined. 

     - Non-store retailing, which largely consists of internet-only 

outlets, jumped by 6.9% in July, the biggest rise since May 2016, 

contributing 0.7 percentage points to the increase in total sales.  

Online promotions accounted for much of the jump, according to ONS 

officials. 

     - The online promotions helped drive internet sales, which rose to 

a record-high 19.9% of total sales in value terms. That ratio has 

climbed steadily from just over 15% over the past three years, 

suggesting more pain to come for high-street retailers. 

     - Retail price inflation ticked up to an annual rate of 0.8% in 

July, the highest since December. Recent sterling weakness could feed 

through to retail prices in months to come. The implied deflator topped 

3% in the third quarter of 2017 following the plunge in the pound after 

the Brexit referendum. 

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

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