LONDON — UK retail sales had a blowout month in April, benefiting from better weather during the month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday morning.
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British retail sales bounced back in April — and it was down to the weather
Retail sales rose by 2.3% compared to the month of March, while on a year-to-year basis, sales were up by 4% against April 2016.
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Those numbers compared to forecasts from economists of 1% monthly growth, and 2% year-on-year growth prior to the release.
It looks as though April's better than expected figures were down, at least in part, to good weather in the month.
On a sector-by-sector basis, no single area disproportionately drove growth, while department stores continued to see a small fall in sales.
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"Given yesterday’s news that real wages are now falling, today’s retail sales data was always going to be closely scrutinised.
"The theory went that squeezed household budgets would likely hit retailers in the pocket too. But in fact the figures beat expectations handsomely, with sales in April 2.3% higher than in March and growing 4.0% year-on-year. April’s figures were always expected to be better than March, because of the timing of the Easter holiday, but economists had forecast a smaller rebound of 1.0%, and much more subdued annual growth of 2.0%"
Thursday's numbers are a big surprise given
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