REPEAT: UK Retail Sales Growth Rate Steady In Jan: BRC

-BRC Jan Like-for-Like Sales Up 0.6% y/y; Total Up 1.4%

     LONDON (MNI) - Retail sales growth held steady in January, with non-food

sales under pressure due to the rising cost of food purchases, British Retail

Consortium (BRC) data showed.

     January like-for-like sales were up 0.6% on the year, matching December's

growth rate, with total sales up 1.4%, just under the 3-month average of 1.5%

and 1.6%. The data add to the evidence that while sales growth is holding up, it

is struggling to gain momentum due to the squeeze on real incomes.

     Food sales rose 2.9% in the three months through January on a like-for-like

basis while non-food sales fell 1.2%. The BRC data are based on the value of

sales, and elevated inflation will tend to push up sales of essential items such

as food.

     "The figures paint the same old picture of divided fortunes for food and

non-food sales. Rising food prices continued to inflate sales growth and absorb

the lion's share of shoppers' squeezed budgets, while sales of non-food items

struggled in January, dragging the 12- month average into negative territory for

the first time in nine years," Helen Dickinson, BRC Chief Executive, said.

     A rise in unsecured consumer borrowing and high employment have helped

support retail sales growth, but discretionary spending has come under pressure.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2223; email: david.robinson@marketnews.com

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

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