ONS Corrects UK Retail Sales Guide - Likely to Boost Q3 GDP

--Updates story transmitted at 0830GMT 20-09-17 with corrected ONS data

     LONDON (MNI) - Retail activity is poised to exert a positive influence on

gross domestic product in the third quarter, according to a clarification

provided by the Office for National Statistics earlier Thursday. 

     Unveiling a 1.0% rise in August retail sales volumes on Wednesday, a

National Statistician told journalists that retail sales must rise by a

near-record 2.9% in September if third quarter sales volumes are to match the

second quarter. 

     However, statisticians corrected that statement on Thursday, telling

journalists that sales volumes could fall by as much as 2.9% in August and leave

retail sales unchanged between the second and third quarters.  

     That suggests that retail sales, which account for 5.6% of economic

activity, are poised to boost GDP in the third quarter. Retail sales have only

once declined by more than 2.9%, plunging by 3.4% in June of 2008, at the onset

of the financial crisis. 

     Retail sales rose by 1.5% in the second quarter, adding 0.09 percentage

points to GDP.

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

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