Economy
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Nov- 2015 -4 November
Shop price deflation continues into 30th-consecutive month
Shop prices reported deflation for the 30th consecutive month in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen’s latest Shop Price Index. Overall shop prices reported deflation of 1.8% in October compared with a 1.9% drop in September. On a 12-month average basis, the index reported deflation of…
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3 November
Falling diamond prices continue in October despite trading uplift
Trading of diamonds improved in October but prices continued to fall, according to the latest figures from Rapaport. The latest RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) for 1-carat, laboratory graded diamonds fell 1.3% in October as suppliers held on to large polished inventory and dealers tried to buy select goods at deep…
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Oct- 2015 -29 October
Retail sales to grow 2.5% in December, says Mintel
Retail sales in the UK are to grow 2.5% during December taking total sales up to £42bn, according to forecasts from market research firm Mintel. According to the company’s Christmas Shopping Habits UK 2015 report 21% of Britons say they will spend more online this Christmas, down from 25% in…
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23 October
£1bn to be spent online by UK consumers this ‘Black Friday’
Retailers have been warned to prepare for a rise of almost a third in spending on ‘Black Friday’ this year, according to new figures. The annual discount day on November 27, which caught on from a trend by US retailers, will be the first time ever that UK online retail…
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19 October
Consumer confidence at four-year high in Q3
Consumer confidence has reached a four-year high in the third quarter of 2015, according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker. The quarterly survey of 3,000 UK consumers said that consumers have shrugged off the turmoil seen in the global financial markets during the period. Consumer confidence rose by 2%, despite…
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16 October
Online sales returned to double-digit growth in September
Online retail sales in the UK returned to double-digit growth in September following a weak August, according to new figures released today. That is according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index which found online retail sales in the UK were up 12% in September when compared with the…
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13 October
Polished diamond prices continue decline in September
Diamond suppliers are under pressure as polished prices fell even further in September, according to figures released today by Rapaport. The latest RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) saw the price of 1-carat laboratory-graded diamonds drop 3% during the month. RAPI for 0.30-carat diamonds declined 2.7%, while RAPI for 0.50-carat diamonds slipped…
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13 October
Hallmarking back on the rise but down Q3
Hallmarking figures resumed their upward trajectory in September after two consecutive monthly falls, but total hallmarking for Q3 is down. This is according to data released today by the UK’s four assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found that during September there were a total of…
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13 October
Retail sales up in September but jewellery growth slows
UK retail sales in September were up compared with last year but growth in sales of jewellery and watches slowed. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG retail sales monitor found retail sales increased 2.6% on a like-for-like basis from September 2014, when they had decreased 2.1% on the preceding…
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8 October
Shop vacancy levels fall to five-year low
The number of vacant shops in Britain has fallen to its lowest since April 2010, according to new figures from the Local Data Company (LDC). In September, Britain’s shop vacancy levels fell to 12.9%. This was despite the leisure vacancy rate increasing from 8.13% in August to 8.16% in September…
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