UK retail sales suffer steepest drop since records began

British retailers reported the broadest year-on-year decline in sales in more than ​40 years as the Iran war raised households’ inflation fears, a ‌survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed this week.

The CBI’s monthly retail sales volume measure dropped to -68 in April from -52 in March, its lowest reading since the series ​started in 1983, as 77 per cent of firms reported sales were down ​compared with a year ago while only 9 per cent reported an increase.

“Some...