UK Retail Sales Drop 0.2%, BSkyB Deemed

Arthi Gupta
20 Sep, 2012
New York City

The UK indexes edged lower tracking weak global economic data. The UK retail sales fell less than estimated in August. The Irish economy stagnated in the second quarter.

[R]4:00 PM London – The UK indexes edged lower tracking weak global economic data. The UK retail sales fell less than estimated in August. The Irish economy stagnated in the second quarter.[/R]

The UK indexes extended losses as larger economies reported weak data economic data. Stocks retreated after China reported weak manufacturing data and euro zone recession deepened.

Retail sales in the UK fell as the London Olympics deterred shoppers.

In London, the benchmark index FTSE 100 declined 46.49 or 0.8% to 5,842.20 and the pound edged lower to $1.6178.

UK Retail Sales Drop

UK retail sales, including auto fuel, fell 0.2% on a monthly basis in August; following a 0.3% gain n July, data from the Office for National Statistics showed today.

Annually, seasonally adjusted sales volumes increased 2.7% in August.

Excluding automotive fuel, sales volume fell 0.3% on a monthly basis in August. The annual rate of growth in sales, excluding auto fuel, accelerated to 3.1% in August from 2.8% in July.

The average weekly spending for all retailing in August was £6.5 billion compared to £6.6 billion in July 2012 and £6.3 billion in August 2011.

Separately, UK manufacturers expect modest growth in output in the coming three months, while order books in September, a survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed.

The order book balance rose to -8% in September from -21% in August.

Irish Economy Stagnates

The Irish gross domestic product remained unchanged sequentially in the second quarter, after dropping a revised 0.7% in the first quarter, preliminary data released by the Central Statistics Office showed

Compared to the second quarter of 2011, GDP dropped 1.1%, from the 2.1% growth in the first quarter.

Gainers & Losers

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc, the satellite broadcaster gained 0.9% to 733.50 pence after regulator Ofcom said that Sky remains a “fit and proper” holder of its broadcasting licences.

Capital Shopping Centres Group plc slumped 4% to 332.70 pence after the shopping centers developer is offering £300 million of senior, unsecured convertible bonds due 2018.

United Utilities Group Plc rose 0.1% to 727.65 pence after the water business estimated full year revenue to be higher than last year, reflecting the regulated price increase for 2012/13.

Imperial Tobacco Group Plc rose 1.7% to 2,376 pence after the tobacco company estimates 4% increase in full year tobacco net revenues at constant currency.

Ocado Group Plc plunged 4% to 64.50 pence after the online grocery retailer said gross sales increased 9.9% to £162.6 million in the 12 weeks to August 5.

Average orders per week for the period increased 8.6% to 120,494 while average order size for the period was £112.44 compared to £111.08 in the equivalent period in 2011.