The Guardian - Retail sales fall as consumers cut back on fuel and food spending amid UK cost of living crisis

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Retail sales fall as consumers cut back on fuel and food spending amid UK cost of living crisis – business live

Link [2022-04-22 09:53:38]

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Bank of England monetary policymaker Cathy Mann said yesterday that in some ways we already have stagflation, and pointed to struggling retail sales and high inflation.

Bethany Beckett, UK economist at Capital Economics, said the “hefty” drop in retail sales

adds to growing signs that the squeeze on real incomes is hitting household spending. With CPI inflation already at a 30-year high of 7.0% and set to keep rising, there’s a real risk of an outright fall in consumer spending in the coming quarters.

The sharp decline in sales in March suggests that households are already paring back spending to cope with higher costs for food and fuel. That is only likely to worsen in the coming months as the cost of living crisis intensifies. After all, the March data predated April’s huge 54% rise in utility bills which will have hit household budgets hard. Indeed, the GfK survey of consumer confidence in April crashed to its lowest level since 2008.