UK retail sales drop 3.7% in December

Retail sales in the United Kingdom dropped 3.7% in December compared to the previous month, according to a report by the Office for National Statistics on Friday. Sales fell far below expectations, which put the figure at 0.6% lower than in November. However, they were 2.6% than the pre-pandemic February 2020 levels.

Sales in non-food stores slumped by 7.1% in December, as some retailers blamed the spread of the Omicron variant. Automotive fuel sales were down 4.7%, while food stores saw a 1% decrease in sales. Meanwhile, online retail sales increased by 0.3 percentage points on a monthly basis.

Baha Breaking the News (BBN) / DJ