Russian gold miner collapses as sanctions claim major scalp

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Good morning.

Retail sales are dropping at the fastest rate since Britain was in the clutches of lockdown as surging inflation and a deepening cost-of-living crisis force shoppers to tighten the purse strings.

Total sales fell 1pc in June, marking the third straight month of decline, according to the BRC and KPMG.

The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, meaning there’s likely to be a much larger fall in the actual number of products being sold.

Food sales were up in the three months to the end of June, but non-food sales dropped 4.2pc as consumers cut back on discretionary items.

5 things to start your day

1) Euro tumbles to the brink of parity with the dollar over fears Putin will cut off gas The single currency fell to a fresh 20-year low against its US counterpart following the shutdown of Russia’s main gas pipeline to Germany.

2) The doomsday scenario of a winter without Russian gas Millions of jobs are at risk and gas rationing on the table if the Kremlin chokes off supplies.

3) Bank of England governor slaps down Tory leadership contender Andrew Bailey warns against attacks on Threadneedle Street’s independence after Tom Tugendhat claimed it had stoked inflation with quantitative easing.

4) Macron pumps taxpayer money into microchip plant to escape clutches of China French facility comes as Britain’s biggest microchip factory faces being sold off

5) Biggest railway strikes for 25 years as drivers and station staff back walkouts Aslef, the drivers’ union, said its members had voted for industrial action at eight train companies, marking the first national walkout since 1995.

What happened overnight

Asian shares fell this morning, weighed down by the prospect of further monetary policy tightening by central banks, China’s renewed Covid outbreak and Europe’s energy shortage, which also left the euro a whisker from parity with the safe haven dollar.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8pc to its lowest level in two years, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.75pc.

Coming up today

Corporate: Grafton Group, Wincanton (trading update)

Economics: ZEW economic sentiment (EU), Andrew Bailey speech (UK)

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