A Siberian weather system that meteorologists called “the Beast from the East” brought rare snow and sub-zero temperatures to much of Britain in late February and early March. Business surveys last week showed the dominant services sector and the construction industry were hit badly by the poor weather, although manufacturers fared better. Separately, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total retail sales values were up 2.3 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago, following a 1.6 percent year on year increase in February.
UK consumer spending wilts in March under heavy snow: surveys
- Sunday, Apr 10 2016
British consumer spending wilted under heavy snow in March, according to surveys on Tuesday that added to signs the economy probably slowed at the start of 2018. Barclaycard, the credit and debit card division of Barclays (BARC.L), said annual consumer spending growth slowed to 2.0 percent in March from 3.8 percent in February, marking the weakest increase since April 2016.