Most UK national newspapers began to recover in May after their circulations were hit hard by the first five weeks of Covid-19 lockdown.
The Financial Times was the only paid-for publication (of those who still opt into public ABC reporting) that saw its circulation continue to fall, dropping by 11% month-on-month.
The free Metro, which has continued printing a smaller run for key workers commuting throughout lockdown, reduced its distribution by a further 20% since April to 317,580.
By contrast the Evening Standard increased its run by 7% to 454,056.
The Observer saw the greatest boost in May, growing 10% month-on-month to a circulation of 142,212. The Mail on Sunday saw growth of 5% to 878,467.
As of last month, UK national newspapers no longer have to make their print circulations public through ABC. News UK’s Sun and Times titles have already opted to keep theirs private.
ABC also ended its monthly circulation reports.
The Telegraph, which pulled out of ABC earlier this year, is focusing instead on subscriber figures. It reached 500,000 subscribers in the last week of May.
National newsbrand circulations in May 2020 (ABC):
| Publication | ABC circulation for May 2020 | ABC circulation for April 2020 (from start of lockdown) and month-on-month % change | ABC circulation for May 2019 and year-on-year % change |
| Daily Mail | 979,836 | 944,981 (4%) | 1,181,023 (-17%) |
| Mail on Sunday | 878,467 | 836,743 (5%) | 984,582 (-11%) |
| Evening Standard (FREE) | 454,056 | 423,285 (7%) | 857,070 (-47%) |
| Daily Mirror | 371,902 | 363,082 (2%) | 494,836 (-25%) |
| Metro (FREE) | 317,580 | 398,787 (-20%) | 1,425,996 (-78%) |
| Sunday Mirror | 317,420 | 303,747 (5%) | 406,326 (-22%) |
| Daily Express | 241,383 | 234,373 (3%) | 308,581 (-22%) |
| Sunday Express | 224,972 | 217,915 (3%) | 266,702 (-16%) |
| Daily Star | 223,727 | 219,275 (2%) | 313,743 (-29%) |
| Daily Star Sunday | 147,357 | 144,251 (2%) | 184,299 (-20%) |
| The Observer | 142,212 | 129,415 (10%) | 158,426 (-10%) |
| i | 137,235 | 134,553 (2%) | 229,791 (-40%) |
| Sunday People | 124,091 | 118,026 (5%) | 154,524 (-20%) |
| The Guardian | 110,538 | 106,003 (4%) | 132,793 (-17%) |
| Financial Times | 79,038 | 88,756 (-11%) | 169,119 (-53%) |
| Sunday Post | 74,609 | 73,959 (1%) | 96,717 (-23%) |
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