June 20, 2003	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1424

LONDON, June 19: Hopes of a post Iraq-war consumer boom in Britain were dealt a blow Thursday as official figures showed that high-street spending fell unexpectedly during May.

Overall retail sales dropped by 0.1 per cent during the month on a seasonally-adjusted basis against those during April, the National Statistics office said.

The fall was a surprise, with economists’ consensus forecasts predicting a rise of 0.2 per cent. The figure indicates a sharp spending slowdown following a revised monthly growth figure of 0.4 per cent during April.

Retails sales grew by 3.1 per cent during May as against the same month in 2002, National Statistics said, also below economists’ expectations of a 3.5pc increase.

Many retailers had pinned their hopes on a so-called “Baghdad bounce”, which predicted that relieved consumers would flock to the shops after the end of the US-led war to unseat Saddam.—AFP