BRC: UK retail sales growth in Q1 has been slow since Q4 2008

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) data released in Asia show the Brits are really feeling the pinch of the rise in inflation.

Total sales inched up by just 0.1% in the January-March period, compared with the same three months of last year. This has been the weakest growth since the three months to December 2008.

Reuters report says, “Non-food retail sales fell by 0.8% on a total basis in the January-March period, the weakest three-month performance in nearly six years. On a like-for-like basis - which excludes new store openings - sales were down 1%, the sharpest decline since August 2015.”

The pound is increasingly proving to be a net negative for the UK economy, given the trade deficit remains at unhealthy levels despite the devaluation post-Brexit referendum.