British retail sales rose by a weaker-than-expected 0.2% in November, according to official data which suggested consumers had overcome their worries about the new government’s first budget but added to signs of only slow momentum in the economy.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a monthly increase of 0.5% in sales volumes after a drop of 0.7% in October in the run-up to finance minister Rachel Reeves’ tax and spending plan.
The monthly rise in sales was the first since August. But over the three months to November, volumes were up by only 0.3%, the weakest performance since the three months to June, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
Previously released official data has shown that Britain’s economy contracted in September and October, the first back-to-back shrinkage since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Much of the blame for the slowdown has been pinned on worries about Reeves’ budget on Oct. 30 which ended up piling tax increases on employers rather than consumers.
