UK Retail Sales Growth Tops Expectations On Warm Weather

(RTTNews) - UK retail sales rebounded more than expected in April as good weather boosted food store sales, official data showed on Friday.

A monthly survey today showed that British consumer confidence strengthened in May on hopes of easing trade tensions and the interest rate reduction by the Bank of England.

Retail sales grew 1.2 percent on a monthly basis in April, following a revised 0.1 percent rise in March, the Office for National Statistics said. Sales were expected to climb only 0.3 percent.

The four consecutive monthly rises in retail sales led to a 1.8 percent increase in the three months to April period compared to the previous three months. Sales, thus, marked the biggest three-monthly rise since mid-2021.

Moreover, on a yearly basis, sales volume increased 2.6 percent in the three months to April, posting the largest growth since March 2022.

In April, retail sales, excluding auto fuel, grew 1.3 percent month-on-month, faster than March's 0.2 percent in March. The rate was also better than the forecast of 0.3 percent.

In April, food store sales grew strongly by 3.9 percent, which retailers attributed to the good weather. Meanwhile, non-food store sales fell 0.7 percent due to falls in clothing stores and other non-food stores.

Following two months of growth, online sales fell 0.3 percent from March, data showed.

Year-on-year, retail sales growth accelerated more-than-expected to 5.0 percent from 1.9 percent in March. Sales were forecast to grow 4.5 percent.

Excluding auto fuel, retail sales advanced 5.3 percent compared to a 2.6 percent rise in March. The expected growth rate was 4.4 percent.

The GfK consumer confidence index rose to -20 in May from -23 in April, survey results showed Friday. All five key indicators improved in May, led by two forward-looking findings.

The measure for personal finances looking ahead for the next twelve months moved out of negative territory, and hit 2 in May. The index for general economic situation over the coming year advanced 4 points to -33.

The index measuring the past personal financial situation rose to -7 from -10. At the same time, the measure for past general economic situation edged up to -46. The major purchase index stood at -16 in May compared to -19 in April.