- Keith Richardson, managing director of the retail sector at Lloyds Bank
Retail sales in the U.K. rose less than projected in July, increasing at the slowest pace since November last year, adding to signs that Britain's consumer-driven recovery might be starting to slow. On a monthly basis retail sales volumes increased 0.1% compared to the upwardly revised 0.2% in June, whereas analysts had been calling for a 0.4% jump. On a yearly basis, the gauge gained 2.6% compared to the figure registered in July 2013, the Office for National Statistics said. According to the ONS, the biggest downward pressure on retail sales came from non-store retailing and petrol stations, and some analysts believed the retail data looked healthier once fuel sales and monthly volatility were excluded. Britain's consumers have been the main driver of the U.K.'s economic recovery, which began last year, helped partly by low inflation that has eased the pressure on their spending power. The data are likely to further ease concerns that the central bank will be in a rush to increase interest rates after inflation data earlier this week showed price pressures in the economy were subdued. The minutes of the last BOE Monetary Policy Committee showed two of its nine members voted for increase in interest rates, but were outvoted by the other members, who wanted rates to remain at on hold for a while.
The ONS also said today that public sector finances, excluding financial sector interventions, showed a deficit of 239 million pounds compared with a deficit of 1.047 billion pounds last year.
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