UK retail sales jump unexpectedly in April
By Trend
British retail sales jumped unexpectedly in April, official data showed on Friday, but the outlook for consumer spending remained resolutely downbeat as the cost-of-living crunch intensifies, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.
Retail sales volumes rose by 1.4% month-on-month last month after a 1.2% drop in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.2% monthly fall in retail sales.
The wider picture, however, remains weak.
Retail sales in the three months to April fell 0.3%, after a 0.7% 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.
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