U.K. Retail Sales Fall More Than Forecast as Squeeze Hits
- Sales volumes ex-fuel decline 1.6%, biggest drop this year
- Every retail category bar fuel saw sales decline last month
A shopper checks her mobile phone while holding shopping bags on Oxford Street in London, U.K.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.K. retail sales plunged in May for the second time in three months as rising inflation ate into the purchasing power of consumers.
The volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 1.2 percent from April, more than the 0.8 percent decline forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Sales excluding auto fuel dropped 1.6 percent, the most this year.