UK sales have been volatile in recent months because of Easter. The retail surveys that provide with a guide report sales compared to a year earlier so suffer from the variable timing of Easter.
The CBI survey showed an enormous jump in the balance of reported sales from 12 to 51 in May and the BRC survey, using the BRC shop price index to create a real sales series, showed growth of 3% yoy after only 0.5% in April. In May last year, sales grew by only 0.2% mom. Interpreting the two surveys to indicate an acceleration in the yoy rate would suggest a mom increase stronger than that. Societe Generale estimates, an increase of 0.4% mom after 1.2% in April.
