LONDON (Reuters) – British retail sales volumes fell by a bigger-than-expected 1.4% in monthly terms in September, official data showed on Friday, as consumers felt the hit from rising prices.
September’s data was also affected by a one-off public holiday to mark the funeral of Queen Elizabeth when many retailers closed, the Office for National Statistics said.
Economists had expected retail sales to fall 0.5%.
Excluding automotive fuel, sales fell 1.5% from August.
Consumers have been reining in their spending with inflation hitting 10% and they also face the prospect of a tighter squeeze on their spending power in 2023 after finance minister Jeremy Hunt scrapped tax cuts previously planned by Prime Minister Liz Truss. She announced on Thursday that she would resign.
A survey published overnight showed consumer confidence remained close to a record low as households responded to the combination of high inflation and Britain’s chaotic politics.
Several retailers, including Britain’s biggest supermarket group Tesco and online fashion seller ASOS, have warned about the profit outlook this month as they face higher energy and staff costs, and a weak pound.
In annual terms, total sales volumes were down 6.9%, the ONS said.
Separate data published by the ONS showed Britain borrowed 20.01 billion pounds ($22.37 billion)in September, more than the 17.1 billion pounds expected in the Reuters poll of economists.
Hunt will try to show investors that he can repair the public finances when he delivers a budget plan on Oct. 31 which is expected to include spending cuts and possibly further tax increases.
($1 = 0.8945 pounds)
(Reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; editing by William Schomberg)
