UK retail sales declined more-than-expected in December as the Omicron outbreak dampened Christmas sales, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Retail sales fell 3.7 percent on a monthly basis in December, reversing the 1 percent increase a month ago. Sales were forecast to fall 0.6 percent. This was the biggest decline since January 2021.
Likewise, sales volume excluding auto fuel, decreased 3.6 percent after rising 0.7 percent in November. This was also much bigger than the economists' forecast of -0.5 percent.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.