UK new car registrations drop in April

New car registrations in the UK, Europe's second-largest market, dropped 3.8% in April compared with a year ago.

New car registrations in April totalled 187,004 units, down sharply from 466,955 in March which is a

traditionally strong month for new cars.

New plates will be next be issued in September, usually another strong month.

The Ford Focus was the UK's best seller in April, outselling the second placed Ford Fiesta by 64 %.

The data may be a hint that consumer spending is starting to moderate after the Bank of England's latest quarter point rate hike on Tuesday.