Damp and Rainy Weather Leads to Decline in UK Retail Sales for July

Impacted by simultaneous declines in both food and non-food purchases, UK retail sales for July fell more than anticipated, with clothing sales particularly affected by the unusually damp and rainy weather of the month.

Data released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics reveals a slight 1.2% decrease in retail sales compared to the previous month, marking a slowdown from June’s 0.6% increase.

This comes as economists had generally predicted a decline of around 0.5% in UK retail sales for the previous month.