According to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK economy grew modestly by 0.1% between January and March, thus avoiding a long-predicted recession. However, the same cannot be said about food sales, which experienced slightly negative growth during the period.
While food sales rose by 0.6% in February, they fell by 0.7% in March, resulting in an overall fractional decline in the quarter. Moreover, the broader retail sales scenario was no different, as March saw a general fall of 0.5%. The reason cited for this decline was the typically high amount of rain that month.
Sharing insights into the issue, an ONS spokesperson highlighted that the dip in food store sales reflected the ongoing impact of the increased cost of living on consumer spending. Additionally, the economy has been experiencing significant turbulence due to the Bank of England’s interest rate increase this month from 4.25% to 4.5%, which is being done to curb inflation.
Apart from the weather, strikes are another factor affecting sales, and experts foresee the extra bank holidays to affect future numbers. Nevertheless, forecasters remain optimistic and have high hopes for the UK’s economy to climb again in the second half of 2023.
To sum up, while the British economy is showing steady growth, the food sales sector and broader retail scenario are experiencing slight setbacks. Despite this, with proactive intervention from the country’s financial regulatory bodies and a favorable market environment, the UK’s economy is expected to bounce back in the near future.
