UK retail sales fall in June by 0.9%

UK retail sales and net borrowings of government sector fell in the UK before the Brexit, notes the ONS.

According to a report, retail sales fell in June by 0.9% on a month-over-month basis. The main reason of these dynamics was bad weather conditions which had caused a fall of sales of clothes and food. The main part of the data was collected before the Brexit.

However, on a year-over-year basis, retail sales rose by 4.3% approving a high level of consumer spending.

The data that fix changes in net borrowings showed a fall to 7.8 billion pounds versus 10.9 billion pounds in June 2015.

Philip Hammond, a Chancellor of the Exchequer, thinks that the government does not aim after the Brexit to achieve stable budget surplus by 2020. However, this questions remains on the agenda. Mr Hammond stated that he was going to create new projections taxation and government spending.

Results of surveys made after the Brexit referendum, show ambiguous picture. From the one side, consumer confidence and activity in real estate market are falling. From the other side, members of large business say that companies did not revise their projections on employment and spending, though it does not mean that they cannot revise projections in long-term outlook.