UK Retail Downturn Eases, but Relief Seen as Brief in World Economy News 23/01/2026 The CBI retail sales balance improved to -17 in January 2026 from -44 in December, the strongest reading since April 2025 and well above expectations of -35. The latest survey suggests the severe slowdown seen across UK retailers has moderated, although conditions remain challenging overall. Retailers’ outlook for the month ahead also became less negative, with the expectations balance rising to -30 from -57. Despite the improvement, the CBI cautioned that the rebound is unlikely to last, with sales projected to weaken again next month. The group said low consumer confidence and cautious spending habits continue to restrain demand. Source: Trading Economics 2026-01-23 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share