UK retail sales fall at slower than expected pace in Feb

According to data released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), the country’s retail sales slid 0.4% on the month in February from January’s gain of 2.3%, declining at a slower pace than economists’ estimates, which called for a drop of 0.7% in a survey conducted by Reuters. On a yearly basis, retail sales rose 3.8% in February, in line with economists’ expectations.

The unexpected decline in retail sales was driven by weak demand for new season clothes. The ONS reported that clothing sales in the three months ending February posted the sharpest drop since December as unusually wet February weather limited buying appetite for spring clothes. Outside the clothing sector, however, retail sales were said to have remained healthy.