In the United Kingdom, retail sales in the first two months of the current year turned out to be higher than preliminary expectations.
The media reports that the result, which is better than forecasts, is partly because residents of the mentioned country, due to wet weather, began to buy clothes and other goods needed in appropriate conditions more often in online stores.
In January, in the United Kingdom, the volume of products sold in stores and on virtual platforms showed an increase of 3.6% year-on-year. This indicator did not change last month. It is worth noting that economists surveyed by the media expected that the volume of goods sold in the United Kingdom would fall by 0.4% year-on-year in February.
The specified data was published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The information contained in the report of this organization indicates that consumers in the United Kingdom are shaking off the pinch of the cost of living crisis.
The Prime Minister of the mentioned country, Rishi Sunak, is betting on a reduction in payroll taxes and on expectations that the Bank of England will begin to cut the cost of borrowing in the coming months. In his opinion, the mentioned actions and sentiments will increase consumer budgets in the run-up to the general elections, which are expected to take place this year.
Heather Bovill, senior statistician at the ONS, says there has been a rise in clothing prices in the United Kingdom, which has recovered from the fall as people invested in new season collections and department stores.
Niraj Shah, an analyst at Bloomberg Economics, says that despite signs of recovery of the economy in the first quarter of the current year, consumers in the UK intend to remain cautious about their spending in the future. According to the expert, the pressure on the mentioned spending is likely to ease in 2024, as wage growth continues to outpace inflation.
As we have reported earlier, Jeremy Hunt Announces New UK Manufacturing Funding.
