Agenda: Asda updates and ONS retail sales data

Inflation data

The ONS will publish its inflation data on Tuesday, November 14.

The Consumer Prices Index’s 12-month inflation rate reached 2.8% in September, a minor rise on August’s 2.7% and the highest rate since March 2012.

The rise was mainly driven by increased prices in food and transport costs while clothing prices worked against the rise.

Retailers will be keen to see whether the Bank of England’s recent interest rate hike affects future inflation trends.

Asda

The Walmart-owned grocer will be seeking to build on its first sales rise in three years when it unveils third-quarter results on Thursday, November 16.

Boss Sean Clarke, who was parachuted in from Walmart’s Chinese business in June last year, has put Asda back on a firmer footing after focusing on sharpening prices, driving availability and improving its range.

Those efforts bore fruit in the three months to July 28, when like-for-sales advanced 1.8%, compared to a 7.5% slump the previous year. But the supermarket giant, which revealed last month that deputy chief executive Roger Burnley will succeed Clarke in January, is up against tougher comparables this time around.

Retail sales data

The ONS will also report retail sales on Thursday, November 16.

Retail sales volumes declined 0.7% in September, reversing a jump in August. The month-on-month decline meant that third-quarter retail growth slowed to a rate of 1.5% – its lowest since the second quarter of 2013.

By contrast, retail sales values rose 4.6%, the highest year-on-year increase since March 2012. However on a month-by-month basis, they slid 0.6%. That made for the first monthly decline since May.