LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) – British retailers have reported a pre-Christmas slump in sales and they are gloomier about their prospects for the start of 2026, according to a survey published on Friday.
The Confederation of British Industry said its gauge of how retail sales compared with a year earlier worsened to -44 in December from -32 in November.
The CBI’s gauge of expected sales for the month ahead deteriorated to -57 from -24, the weakest reading since expectations for the month of March 2021, when Britain was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Official data published earlier on Friday showed retail sales fell last month, the latest in a string of data suggesting a slowdown in the broader economy ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget at the end of November.
The CBI’s survey was conducted between November 24 and December 11. Of 161 respondents, 60 were retailers and 85 were wholesalers.
(Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce)
