UK retail sales fell 3.9 percent in June as consumers cut back amid rising inflation

Retail sales slumped in June by the biggest margin in more than 20 years, indicating that British consumers are cutting back spending amid accelerating inflation and slowing economic growth. The Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that sales volumes fell 3.9 percent last month, the largest decrease since records began in January 1986. The drop more than wiped out an unexpected 3.5 percent surge in May that economists had deemed a glitch caused by unseasonably warm weather. "The retail sector is clearly feeling the pain, as the U.K. consumer begins to batten down the hatches," said Gavin George, head of retail at Ernst & Young. Global Insight chief economist Howard Archer said that just as May's rise overstated the strength of sales last month, June's result "overstates the weakness." Today in Business with... [read full story]