UK retail sales post record fall; business slump points to double dip recession – live

UK retail sales post record fall; business slump points to double dip recession – live

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Retail sales volumes in the UK rose by just 0.3% in December from the previous month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics released just now. Economists had expected a 1.2% gain. In the fourth quarter, retail sales fell 0.4% from the previous quarter.

Clothing sales jumped 21.5% after a 19.6% drop in November when non-essential stores were closed because of coronavirus restrictions.

In 2020 as a whole, retail sales (measured by the quantity bought) fell by 1.9% when compared with 2019, the largest year-on-year fall on record, as multiple coronavirus lockdowns led to widespread store closures. Online sales surged, however, to the highest on record.

Clothing stores (down 25.1%), petrol stations (down 22.2%), “other stores” (down 11.6%) and department stores (down 5.2%) all recorded record annual declines in sales volumes last year when compared with 2019. However, non-store retailing – online and mail order sales – saw a record annual increase of 32% for 2020.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for Economic Statistics, says:

December's retail sales increased slightly, driven by an improved month for clothing sales, as the easing of some lockdown measures