UK retail sales record biggest monthly drop since 2023

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters): British retail sales volumes recorded their sharpest drop since December 2023 last month, as demand fell after shoppers splurged on food, summer clothes and home improvements the month before, official figures showed on Friday. Retail sales volumes dropped by 2.7% in May, the Office for National Statistics said, a much sharper decline than the median forecast of 0.5% in a Reuters poll.

Sales volumes were also 1.3% lower than a year earlier, the biggest annual drop since April 2024 and well below a Reuters poll forecast for 1.7% annual sales growth.