Economy
The latest news, updates and analysis on the economy and how it is affecting the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Feb- 2023 -6 February
Trade bodies urge Govt to reform ‘broken’ apprenticeship levy
Four trade bodies within UK retail and hospitality, including the BRC, have called on the government to reform the “broken” apprenticeship levy system, as so far, £3.5bn has reportedly expired before businesses could make use of it. This call on the government comes as businesses were also unable to meet…
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2 February
BoE raises interest rates to 4%
The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that interest rates will be raised by 0.5%, bringing the base rate of interest to 4%, the highest level in 14 years. The increase, which is the tenth consecutive increase, was decided after the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority…
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1 February
Shop price inflation hits record levels
Shop price annual inflation increased to a record high of 8.0% in January up from 7.3% in December, according to data from BRC NielsenIQ shop price index. This figure of 8% is above the three month rolling rate of 7.5%. Food inflation accelerated to 13.8% in January, up from 13.3%…
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Jan- 2023 -31 January
Nearly half of FTSE retailers issued profit warnings in 2022
Profit warnings from UK-listed retailers increased by 48% in 2022 as rising costs prompted record levels of warnings, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. The total profit warnings issued in 2022 increased by 50%, from 203 the previous year to 305 this year. The report discovered that over a…
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23 January
Consumer confidence improves for first time in 15 months
UK consumer confidence in the final quarter of 2022 improved by half (+0.6) a percentage point, according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker, marking the end of a 15-month period of consecutive decline. Deloitte said overall confidence was boosted by “significant” quarter-on-quarter improvement in sentiment towards levels of debt (+3.8…
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20 January
December retail sales fall 1% despite Christmas boost
Retail sales volumes fell by 1% in December 2022 after a 0.5% fall in November 2022, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Alongside this, sales volumes were down 1.7% compared with pre-pandemic levels in February 2020. Non-food store sales volumes also dropped 2.1% over December. ONS…
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18 January
UK inflation dips for second consecutive month
UK inflation fell slightly for the second consecutive month from 10.7% to 10.5% in December as easing fuel costs were offset by the rising price of food which meant the figure remained close to its previous 40-year high. The latest figures, from The Office For National Statistics (ONS), show that…
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13 January
UK economy beats expectations as it grows 0.1% in November
The UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in November as the World Cup helped boost restaurant and pub sales, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It comes as analysts had predicted a fall of 0.3% for the month and has raised hopes that the…
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10 January
Retail sales rise 6.9% over Christmas
The BRC has reported that sales on a total basis increased by 6.9% in December 2022, compared with the prior increase of 2.1% in December 2021. These figures are said to be above both the three-month average growth of 4.4% and the 12-month average growth of 3.1%. Meanwhile, the UK’s…
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4 January
Food inflation hits record high of 13.3%
ood inflation accelerated to the highest inflation rate in the category on record, after jumping to 13.3% in December, up from 12.4% in November and above the three-month average rate of 12.5%, according to the latest figures from BRC and Nielsen. Fresh Food inflation accelerated in December to 15.0%, up…
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