Biggest drop in petrol purchases in six years hits retail sales in Great Britain

Key points

• Motorists cutting back on petrol and fuel purchases at the steepest rate since the Covid pandemic in 2020 drove retail sales in Great Britain to their biggest monthly decline in a year.
• The Office for Statistics (ONS) said the overall volume of retail sales plunged by 1.3% in April compared with the previous month, the biggest contraction since May last year and worse than the -0.6% forecast.
• Fuel purchases plunged more than 10% month on month, the biggest slide since November 2020, when monthly sales fell 14.8% as pandemic protocols put households into a second national lockdown.
• “After strong growth last month, motor fuel sales fell in April, with evidence suggesting motorists were conserving fuel after stocking up in March,” said Grant Fitzner, the chief economist at the ONS.
• “These subdued fuel purchases contributed to a sizeable monthly fall for total retail sales in April.” The ONS slightly revised down...