Good morning.
Retail sales are falling at the fastest pace since Britain was in the clutches of the blockade, as rising inflation and a deepening cost-of-living crisis force buyers to tighten their purse strings .
Total sales fell 1% in June, marking the third consecutive month of decline, according to the BRC and KPMG.
The figures do not adjust to inflation, which means there is likely to be a much larger drop in the actual number of products sold.
Food sales rose in the three months to the end of June, but non-food sales fell 4.2% as consumers reduced discretionary items.
5 things to start the day
1) The euro falls on the brink of parity with the dollar for fears that Putin will cut gas The single currency fell to a new 20-year low against its US counterpart after the shutdown of the main gas pipeline. Russia to Germany.
2) The scenario of the day of the final judgment of a Russian gas-free winter Millions of jobs are at risk and gas rationing on the table if the Kremlin drowns supplies.
3) Bank of England Governor hits Conservative leadership candidate Andrew Bailey warns of attacks on Threadneedle Street independence after Tom Tugendhat claimed he had fueled inflation with quantitative easing.
4) Macron pumps taxpayer money into microchip plant to escape China’s claws French facility arrives when Britain’s largest microchip factory faces sale
5) The largest railway strikes in 25 years, as drivers and station staff supported the departures Aslef, the drivers’ union, said its members had voted in favor of the action industrial to eight train companies, which was the first national march since 1995.
What happened overnight
Asian stocks fell this morning, weighed down by the prospect of a further tightening of monetary policy by central banks, the new Covid outbreak in China and the energy shortage in Europe, which has also left the euro one step closer to the dollar with the dollar shelter.
The broader Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan fell 0.8% to its lowest level in two years, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.75%.
Arrive today
Corporate: Grafton Group, Wincanton (commercial update)
Economy: economic sentiment of ZEW (EU), speech by Andrew Bailey (UK)