The FTSE 100 fell sharply after a steep decline in retail sales delivered a blow to Rishi Sunak’s election campaigning on the economy.
The UK’s flagship stock market fell as much as 0.9pc in morning trading as official figures showed sales volumes slumped by 2.3pc between March and April.
The drop was far more than economist predictions of a decline of 0.5pc and was blamed on poor weather during the month, which hit footfall.
Investors were also concerned by robust economic data from the US, which increased the risk of interest rates remaining higher for longer.
It left the FTSE 100 poised for a fourth consecutive session in the red, which is its longest losing streak in more than three months. The index was set to log a second consecutive week of declines. It was last down 0.4pc.
It comes as Rishi Sunak repeated the comments from officials at the Office for National Statistics that the economy is “going gangbusters” as he insisted Britain was “turning a corner”.
Peter Arnold, UK chief economist at EY, said the retail data combined with weak business surveys indicate the economy is slowing down from the strong growth spurt at the start of the year.
“It’s clear that the retail sector is still struggling to generate much momentum,” he said.
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2024-05-24 11:08:43Z
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