Strength in nominal spending offers some comfort

The fall in retail sales volumes in Q1 2017 suggests that the slowdown in consumer spending growth is gathering pace. But the recent strength of nominal spending offers some comfort. Retail sales volumes registered their largest quarterly fall in seven years in Q1, of 1.4%. But sales values (i.e. nominal spending) held broadly steady on the quarter. In annual terms, values growth has risen from about 1% over 2015 to nearly 6% by end-2016 and remained elevated since.