U.K. Retail Sales Continue To Rise In April

Release Explanation: Retail sales are a very important set of figures that make up a large percentage of consumer spending numbers. Retail sales are the measure of the total sales of goods and services by retail stores. 'Retail Sales is an important measure of consumer spending and inflationary pressures,' TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Team said.

TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Desk Thoughts: U.K. retail sales continue to remain resilient in the face of the economic slowdown. U.K. retail sales rose again in April, recording a 0.9% gain. From one year ago, retail sales are up by 2.6% in April, which by normal standards is a low rate of growth.

Predominantly food stores rose by 1.5 per cent, the largest increase since May 2008 when it was 2.8 per cent. Predominantly non-food stores increased by 2.8 per cent. Within predominantly non-food stores, the largest increase was for textile, clothing and footwear stores at 11.9 per cent. Non-specialized stores increased by 6.0 per cent, the largest increase since February 2008 when it was 7.1 per cent.

TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Team commented that starting with the current release, retail sales will be calculated using a new formula. The U.K. National Statistic agency said that the previous formula overstated retail sales during periods of slowdown.

Forex Technical Reaction: The pound plunged 200 pips shortly ahead of the release, as the S&P downgraded the outlook of the U.K. economy.

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