April Retail Sales higher tha expected

Source : Katie Naylor

During the month of April, retail sales in the UK showed an increase that was much larger than expected, as lower interest rates seemed to maintain levels of consumer spending.

Even with the recession continuing, retail sales rose by 0.9 per cent for the month, as compared with March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Industry analysts had expected a rise of only 0.5 per cent.

Interest rates in the UK were reduced to 0.5 per cent in March, meaning lower monthly bills for many residents with mortgage payments.

The British Retail Consortium also noted that sales rose for the month of April.

When compared with April of 2008, sales for the month increased by 2.6 per cent, figures from the ONS show.

Some analysts are warning, however, that retail sales could decline as the year progresses due to increasing numbers of unemployed workers.

Analysts have also expressed some scepticism regarding the April figures, as they are the first released by the ONS since it changed its survey methods on criticism that its figures were not in line with various studies of retail spending.

Stephen Lewis, the chief economist at Insinger de Beaufort, said: “The retail sales figures confirm the trend which came through from the British Retail Consortium report a few days ago.”

Thanks to news.bbc.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.statistics.gov.uk