UK retail sales declined more than expected last month, official numbers on Friday showed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, UK retail sales volumes fell by 1.2% in June from a month before, swinging from a rise in May. This compared to FXStreet-cited market consensus of a 0.4% monthly decline in June.

Sales had surged by 2.9% in May from April but had declined 1.8% in April from March. April’s outcome was upwardly revised from an initially reported 2.3% decline.

On an annual basis, sales fell by 0.2% in June.

‘Sales volumes fell across most sectors, with department stores and clothing retailers broadly returning to their [first quarter] 2024 levels,’ the ONS said.

In the second quarter as a whole, sales volumes fell by 0.2% on an annual basis and by 0.1% when compared with the first quarter.

‘It has been a gloomy start to summer spending,’ commented Kris Hamer, director of Insight at the British Retail Consortium, noting that June was unseasonably cold in the UK and households are struggling with high costs.

‘Categories sensitive to weather, such as clothing performed particularly poorly,’ Hamer said. ‘Some electronic categories had a better month due to consumers replacing their pandemic purchases, and sports aficionados upgraded their home entertainment systems to better experience the excitement of the Euros, Wimbledon, and upcoming Olympics.’

According to separate data from the ONS, UK public sector net borrowing was £14.51 billion in June, down from £15 billion in May and £17.7 billion in June last year.

Public sector net debt as a proportion to UK gross domestic product fell to 99.5% in June from 99.8% in May, which had been the highest level since March 1961, the ONS said. However, it was higher than the 96.7% registered in June the year prior.

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