UK retail sales drop in April on quarantine restrictions: BRC

United Kingdom’s retail sales sunk by nearly a fifth in April as the government’s effort of combating the coronavirus brought disruptions to the sector. More so, Britain’s consumer spending declined by more than a third, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The British Retail Consortium reported a 19.1% loss in last month’s overall spending. It drastically dropped in the year ended April, the sharpest decline since it started index monitoring back in 1995.

Barclaycard, subsidiary of Barclays Bank (BARC.L), reported a 36.8% drop in credit and debit card spending. Year-on-year records showed a sharp drop as travel, pubs, and restaurant spending suffered from the coronavirus crisis.

In March, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mandated people from going outside and halted economic operations in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.