(Alliance News) - UK retail sales plunged in January as tighter nationwide coronavirus restrictions closed non-essential shops, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.
On an annual basis, UK retail sales fell 5.9% in January having posted growth of 3.1% in December. The print missed market consensus, cited by FXStreet, for just a 1.3% drop.
Retail sales plunged 8.2% month-on-month in January having risen 0.4% in December. The latest reading market missed consensus, cited by FXStreet, of negative 2.5%.
"The latest national lockdown led to a sharp monthly fall in January's retail sales, with April 2020 the only month on record to see a bigger slump," said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for Economic Statistics at the ONS.
In a separate release the ONS said, UK public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, was estimated to have been GBP8.8 billion in January, down from GBP26.1 billion in December.
This is the highest January borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, and the first January deficit since 2011, the ONS said.
The lofty figure comes as UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak prepares to deliver his second government budget statement in early March.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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