The VAT cut came into force yesterday, against a background of job cuts and a falling pound.
The VAT cut came into force yesterday, against a background of job cuts and a falling pound.
The change from 17.5% to 15% was widely passed on by high street retailers, with most keeping the same price tags but making the cut at the till point.
Many shops took advantage of the reduction to launch their own sales.
Bad economic news drove the pound down 5.2 cents against the dollar to $1.486, its largest one-day fall in percentage terms since sterling left the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.
The FTSE 100 index was down 5.2% yesterday as HSBC confirmed it was cutting 500 jobs across the UK, carmaker Aston Martin announced it will cut 300 full-time and 300 temporary jobs and Halfords said it will shed 250 posts.
