UK retail orders collapsed to −62 in September, the worst reading since the survey began in 1983, as energy bills and 3.1% inflation squeeze consumers and the Bank of England weighs another rate hike into November.
One Chart UK notes the October Ofgem cap would have risen about £105 without the electricity VAT cut, rather than the £60 increase to £1,723. Source
Britain's retailers have never seen a month like this one. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) distributive trades survey, which stretches back to 1983, showed orders placed with suppliers collapsing to −62 in September: worse than 2008, worse than the 2022 energy crisis, worse than anything else on record. That is the number worth watching this week, not the headline GDP revision everyone has been talking about.
