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Summary
- Latest ONS data shows that last week’s spending through payment cards was at 78 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
- Spending on staples through cards in the latest week was at 111 per cent of February 2020 average.
- Turnovers at least 40 per cent of UK’s currently trading businesses were impacted negatively.
UK’s spending through payment cards for the week to 25 March 2021 was at 78 per cent of February 2020 pre-Covid levels but a little less than previous week’s 80 per cent, latest data of Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed.
It was mainly due to a fall in every individual’s consumption category except for work-related category which saw a slight rise from previous week by a percentage point. Spending on staples using cards in the latest week was at 111 per cent of last year’s February average. Purchases in the delayable, work-related, and social categories were at 59 per cent, 76 per cent and 66 per cent of the February 2020 average, respectively.
Also read: Why the UK Unemployment Rate Fell for The First Time Since the Pandemic
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After a significant fall in the beginning of 2021 following the lockdown and the end of Christmas season, all four categories of card purchases have recorded an uptick. The pickup in card transactions were above the lowest levels seen during the spring 2020 lockdown.
Early data trends on the impact of Covid-19 on society and UK economy revealed that turnovers in at least 40 per cent of UK’s currently operational businesses were impacted negatively, compared to what should have been around this time of the year.
The data showed that the proportion of working adults travelling to work in the last week increased a little to 58 per cent compared to the week before.
Also read: UK Govt Borrowed £19.1 Bn In February, Highest In 28 Years
According to the data, for the week up to 27 March, East of England recorded strongest retail footfall compared to the rest of UK, which was 47 per cent of the level in the same period in 2019. Retail footfall was weakest in Northern Ireland at 36 per cent of the corresponding level.
The data was from the initial results of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS), which looks at trends between 8 March and 21 March period. The preliminary results found that 19 per cent of the businesses that had their workforce on furlough leave in March, accounted for approximately 6.2 million people.
About 73 per cent of businesses were operational for over two weeks which was similar to the previous trends. About 2 per cent resumed operations in the last two weeks after a break, which was also unchanged from previous weekly trends.
On Wednesday, 31 March, the ONS made revisions to the UK’s quarterly growth figures and said last year’s economic slump would be at 9.8 per cent compared to the first estimate projection of 9.9 per cent. The quarter-on-quarter GDP growth in the last quarter of 2020 was revised to 1.3 per cent from 1 per cent earlier.
