UK retail sales jump unexpectedly in April

BRITISH retail sales jumped unexpectedly in April, official data showed on Friday (May 20), but the outlook for consumer spending remained resolutely downbeat as the cost-of-living crunch intensifies.

Retail sales volumes rose by 1.4 per cent month on month last month after a 1.2 per cent drop in March.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.2 per cent monthly fall in retail sales.

The wider picture, however, remains weak.

Retail sales in the 3 months to April fell 0.3 per cent, after a 0.7 per cent drop in March.

Earlier on Friday, Britain’s longest-running gauge of consumer confidence, the GfK survey, fell to its lowest since records began in 1974. REUTERS