Clifford Beaumont: UK Retail Sales Tumble

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Clifford Beaumont UK Retail Sales Tumble
(1888 PressRelease) Clifford Beaumont UK
consumer spending at 13 year low in October as
BoE increases rates for first time in more than a
decade. UK consumer spending dropped at its most
accelerated rate in more than a decade. The last
October to see consumers restrict spending as
much was October 2008. With inflation rising,
consumers drastically reduced their purchases of
non-essential and non-food goods according to a
recent survey by Taipei, Taiwan-based investment
boutique, Clifford Beaumont. According to the
BRC (British Retail Consortium), retail sales
figures decreased by 1.0 percent on a yearly
basis, which discounts shifts in store size,
compared with 1.9 percent a month earlier. Last
week, the Bank of England hiked interest rates
for the first time in over a decade. Economists
at Clifford Beaumont believed that the interest
rate hike would be a bad move in light of the
state of consumer finances which have been
pressured by rising inflation since 2016s Brexit
referendum when the UK voted to exit the European
Union. The BRC stated that its data was reason
for trepidation leading up to the festive season.
In a statement to the media, BRC chief executive
Helen Dickinson said that the fall in consumer
spending was fueled by the most negative
performance of non-food sales since the beginning
of 2011. Clifford Beaumont economists stated
that although growth in food sales figures were
positive, these were largely supported by rising
inflation.
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Dickinson added that the rate hike implemented
last week would add further burden already tight
household budgets. Consumer price inflation
exceeded the Bank of Englands target of 2
percent and reached 3 percent in September, its
highest level since 2012. http//www.twn-media.co
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