UK retail slump in December hints at consumption slowdown in 2017

London

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond told a Davos gathering on Friday that an inflation pick-up will put a damper on consumers this year. The first signs may already be appearing.

Less than an hour before Mr Hammond spoke, data showed retail sales fell at the fastest pace in almost five years in December, recording a 1.9 per cent drop that far exceeded even the most pessimistic forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.