FX.co ★ UK Retail Sales Plunge to Historic Low: CBI

The CBI’s monthly retail sales volume index plunged to –68 in April 2026, a 16-point drop and the weakest reading since the survey began in 1983. The result, far below the consensus forecast of –48, represents the steepest year-on-year fall in retail activity in more than forty years, as the escalating war in Iran deepens household concerns about inflation. The outlook for May has also deteriorated sharply, with expectations sliding to –60 from –49—marking the most downbeat forecast since March 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.