'Dismal' month for supermarkets pushes down retail sales
UK retail sales fell sharply last month after "dismal" sales at supermarkets, the UK's statistics body has said.
Sales volumes are estimated to have fallen by 2.7% in May, the biggest monthly fall since December 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It said there were signs that alcohol and tobacco sales were lower after customers chose to make cutbacks.
Separate figures from the ONS showed that government borrowing rose last month, hitting the second highest level for May since monthly began in 1993.
Borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - was £17.7bn, up £0.7bn from May last year.
The ONS said revenue from income tax and National Insurance contributions increased, but spending rose by more, partly due to inflation-linked uplifts to many benefits.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fed Daly eyes fall for possible policy shift
-- San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly voiced a cautiously optimistic outlook for monetary policy and economic conditions in a wide-ranging interview on CNBC, citing signs of balanced progress on both inflation and employment. While acknowledging the potential inflationary effects from tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, Daly affirmed that 'the economy remains in a good place, and policies in a good place.' The May inflation report offered encouragement, according to Daly, particularly in the housing and services sectors, where price moderation has continued. 'The May data just confirmed an ongoing pattern… we saw inflation continue to come down,' she said, calling the developments 'great news, both for our inflation mandate, but also for American families.' Daly outlined three scenarios for how inflation might evolve during the summer, ranging from a delayed spike to muted pass-through effects due to corporate mitigation strategies. 'We're just going to have to wait and see and collect more information,' she noted, adding that feedback from national businesses showed 'a little more optimism, cautious optimism.' Asked about the likelihood of a rate cut in July, Daly signaled a preference for a more patient approach, saying, 'For me, I look more to the fall, and by then we'll have quite a bit more information.' She emphasized that unless the labor market saw meaningful and persistent weakening, immediate easing would be unlikely. On labor availability, Daly said wage growth has remained consistent with long-run economic fundamentals, and firms report improving conditions for hiring. 'Right now, we haven't seen a broad impact… firms are telling me that they have an easier time finding workers today than they did just last year.' Artificial intelligence, another emerging economic variable, has yet to disrupt job markets in a material way, according to Daly's discussions with business leaders. 'They repeat to us that this is not a way to reduce their payrolls as much as… to augment their payrolls,' she said, noting that employers are using AI to increase productivity rather than cut staff. Daly was measured in her assessment of using tariffs as a rationale for policy shifts, saying, 'I never trust just the theory. There's really three things you have to look at: the theory helps us, history also helps us, and then you have to talk to people.' While confident in current policy settings, Daly warned against complacency amid labor market softening, saying, 'If you ask me where we are in the labor market, I would say we're at a point where additional softening could easily turn into weakening, which I don't want to see.' She cautioned against policy inaction based on inflation fears that may never materialize. Related articles Fed Daly eyes fall for possible policy shift Fed keeps rates steady, but sees fewer cuts next year on stagflation concerns WATCH LIVE: Fed Chair Jerome Powell Holds Press Conference Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Rises as U.S. Debt Surpasses $37 Trillion
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has continued to climb in 2025, reaching a market capitalization of $2.1 trillion, even as the U.S. national debt surpasses $37 trillion, according to Cointelegraph. The contrast between fiat-driven fiscal expansion and Bitcoin's fixed-supply model has drawn growing interest from institutions, sovereign funds, and individual investors. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with MSTR. Regulatory approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in early 2024 accelerated mainstream access, with $45 billion in inflows recorded so far this year. Major players including BlackRock (BLK, Financials), Fidelity, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) (MSTR, Financials), and GameStop (GME, Financials) have incorporated Bitcoin into their treasury strategies. Tesla (TSLA, Financials) also remains a high-profile corporate holder. El Salvador, which adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, has continued to advance its crypto-financed Volcano Bonds project. Bitcoin's appeal as a decentralized hedge against inflation and currency debasement has grown alongside concerns about long-term fiscal stability. While governments continue to rely on stimulus spending and debt issuance, Bitcoin's scarcity and censorship-resistant design present an alternative monetary framework. A Cointelegraph analysis suggests that if just 1% of the $7.6 trillion in U.S. stimulus spending since 2020 had been allocated to Bitcoin, it would have amounted to a $76 billion injectionroughly 3.6% of Bitcoin's current market cap. Such capital flows could have driven a 5% to 15% appreciation in Bitcoin's price due to its low float and high price sensitivity. While volatility and political risk remain barriers to sovereign adoption, Bitcoin's expanding institutional presence, technological upgrades, and cultural significance continue to reshape how investors view monetary policy and long-term value preservation. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Creative industries to get £380m boost ahead of industrial strategy launch
Britain's film, music and video game industries are set to receive millions of pounds of investment as the Government seeks to ensure the UK's place as a creative superpower. The investment, announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, will see £380 million spent on a range of projects intended to double private investment in the creative industries. Ms Nandy said the investment would 'boost regional growth, stimulate private investment, and create thousands more high-quality jobs'. The figure includes £25 million for research into cutting-edge technologies such as the virtual avatars used in Abba Voyage, and £75 million to support the film industry. It will also see £30 million put towards backing start-up video games companies – an industry worth billions of pounds to the UK – and another £30 million for the music industry, including an increase in funding for grassroots venues. Another £150 million will be split between the mayors of Manchester, Liverpool, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, the North East and the West of England to support creative businesses in their regions. The announcement comes as the Government prepares to publish its industrial strategy next week, billed as a 10-year, multibillion-pound plan to back certain sectors and secure growth for the UK economy. The creative industries are set to be one of the winners, with a plan for the sector expected to be published alongside the wider industrial strategy. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The UK's creative industries are world-leading and have a huge cultural impact globally, which is why we're championing them at home and abroad as a key growth sector in our modern industrial strategy.' But earlier this month, the Government also rejected a planning application for a major new film studio near Holyport, in Berkshire, over its impact on the green belt. The £380 million has been welcomed by the industry, with the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu) saying it was a 'show of commitment to the sector'. But Bectu chief Philippa Childs said creative workers would also be looking for 'sustained support' from the Government as the sector 'recovers from a series of external shocks'. Recent years have seen the sector rocked by Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and concerns about the impact of AI and Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on films made outside the US. Conservative shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew accused Labour of threatening the 'very survival' of the creative industries. He said: 'From their national insurance jobs tax to their business rates hike, Labour are pushing creative businesses to the brink, and we now know that Rachel Reeves has a secret plan to raise taxes – meaning things will only get worse. 'Labour must recognise that their economic mismanagement is dealing a devasting blow to the sector.'
