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Business live
Retail sales tumble across Britain amid cost of living squeeze and wet weather; energy price cap falls 7%
Live  
Retail sales tumble across Britain amid cost of living squeeze and wet weather; energy price cap falls 7%
Retail sales slumped by more than expected in April as rain kept shoppers away from the high street
Headlines
Energy bills  
Price cap in Great Britain to fall to £1,568 in summer
Price cap in Great Britain to fall to £1,568 in summer
Beer and wine  
Short measuring costs average UK drinker £115 a year, study finds
US  
Tech titan Mike Lynch testifies at fraud trial that Autonomy was ‘not perfect’
Horizon scandal  
Paula Vennells ruled out Post Office review that ‘would be front-page news’
Food  
Kellogg’s recalls chocolate cornflakes due to ‘hard lumps’ choking fears
Environment Agency  
Chief admits regulator buries freedom of information requests
Live Nation  
US sues Ticketmaster owner and seeks break-up of alleged monopoly
Environment  
Norway sued over deep-sea mining plans
Morrisons  
Workers strike at two warehouses amid pensions row
‘Rostering to the limits’  
Senior Virgin Australia pilots raise safety concerns over fatigue
Marcus Rashford  
Player makes M&S squad for England formalwear despite Southgate snub
Fantasy house hunt  
Hidden homes in England and Wales for sale
Today's agenda
Economic news takes on extra significance in an election campaign. Every survey and data release becomes a health check on the economy, scrutinised for signs that the economy is improving or ailing.

This morning we have learned that retail spending weakened last month, with sales volumes and values falling sharply in April.

Retail sales across Great Britain tumbled by 2.3% in April, the Office for National Statistics reports, after a fall of 0.2% in March (which has been revised down from 0.0%).

On an annual basis, retail sales volumes were 2.7% lower than in April 2023 – and 3.8% below their levels before the Covid-19 pandemic. Not an encouraging economic signal.

Sales volumes fell across most sectors, with clothing retailers, sports equipment, games and toys stores, and furniture stores doing badly.

The ONS blames the rain and storms that hit Britain in April, saying that “poor weather reduced footfall”. It was the UK’s sixth wettest April since 1836.

Sales volumes at department, clothing, household and other non-food stores fell by 4.1% in April, which is the joint largest fall since January 2021.

The cost of living squeeze and the bad weather combined to drive down retail sales in April, experts say.

Kris Hamer, the director of insight at the British Retail Consortium,said struggling customers resisted buying big-ticket items last month.

That is a reminder that households are not suddenly wealthier just because the annual inflation rate has fallen.

The energy price cap in Great Britain will fall by 7% from July to September, thanks to a fall in wholesale gas prices, the energy regulator, Ofgem, has announced.

Ofgem says its cap will fall by the equivalent of £122 a year this summer, meaning the typical household will pay £1,568 a year (although there is no limit to how high bills can go).

This cap, on the average cost of a unit of energy, reflects the average annual dual-fuel bill for 29m households and takes effect from July until the end of September.

That is a fall from its current level of £1,690, easing the pressure on household finances.

While a drop in energy bills is welcome for hard-pressed consumers, households will still be paying much more than a few years ago.

The agenda
• 
1.30pm BST: US durable goods orders for April
• 3pm BST: University of Michigan’s index of US consumer confidence

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Nils Pratley on finance
Forget Thames Water, National Grid has proved investors will still back UK assets
Forget Thames Water, National Grid has proved investors will still back UK assets
 

Pippa Crerar

UK political editor

Pippa Crerar

The UK is gearing up for a general election on 4 July and with it the possibility, for the first time in many years, of major political change.

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Opinion
Analysis  
‘Mild positive’: markets greet prospect of Labour landslide with calm
‘Mild positive’: markets greet prospect of Labour landslide with calm
Media
Russia  
Moscow denies Trump’s claim he can free US journalist if he wins election
Moscow denies Trump’s claim he can free US journalist if he wins election
Michael Schumacher  
Family win case against publisher over fake AI interview
Spotlight
Few are at home for Margaret Hodge’s ‘kleptocracy walking tour’
‘Sorry, no one is in’  
Few are at home for Margaret Hodge’s ‘kleptocracy walking tour’
Campaigning Labour MP knocks on doors of wealthy London homes bought by foreign leaders who are subject to sanctions
Popular on business
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Almost a third of household smart meters not working properly, says Citizens Advice
UK watchdog launches full investigation into vet fees for pet owners
Do heat pumps work at freezing temperatures?
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