UK Statistics Office Postpones Release of Retail Sales Data by Two Weeks

Delay in Retail Sales Data Release: The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) has postponed the release of July retail sales data from August 21 to September 5 for additional quality assurance.

Criticism and Previous Delays: The ONS has faced criticism from the Bank of England for unreliable labor market data and has previously delayed other key statistics, including producer price figures and trade balance data.

Inflation Gauge Overstatement: In June, the ONS acknowledged it had overstated the April reading of Britain's main inflation measure, raising concerns about its data accuracy.

Leadership and Resource Issues: A government review highlighted leadership culture problems within the ONS and recommended splitting its top role into two positions while reallocating resources to improve core economic statistics collection.