UK Sales Extend Recovery

UK JUL RETAIL SALES +3.6% M/M; +1.4% Y/Y, ABOVE BBG +2.0% M/M F/C

UK JUL RETAIL SALES EX-FUEL +2.0% M/M; +3.1% Y/Y

UK JUN TOTAL SALES UNREVISED AT +13.9% M/M

UK JUL RETAIL SALES DEFLATOR -0.7% Y/Y; EX-FUEL +0.5% Y/Y

Retail sales ticked up again in Jul, rising by 3.6% and beating market expectations looking for an uptick by only 2.0%. Jul's uptick marks the third increase in a row and the ONS noted that sales are 3.0% above pre-pandemic levels. Clothing and footwear was the worst hit sector during the pandemic, still registering 25.7% below Feb's level, however sales recovered further in Jul, rising by 11.9% m/m. Fuel sales ticked up 26.2% m/m in Jul but remain 11.7% lower than in Feb. The ONS noted that car road traffic is still down 17% compared to Feb. Online sales, though, remain historically high in July, 50.4% higher than in Feb, despite a 7.0% m/m drop in Jul. Annual sales recorded the first positive reading since Jan and the highest growth rate since Oct 2019. Jul's data covers the period from Jul 5 to Aug 5.