British retail sales rose much more strongly than expected in April helped by robust food sales during the Easter holiday, official data showed on Wednesday.
Retail sales volumes jumped 1.3 percent on the month to show 6.9 percent growth on the year – its highest annual growth rate since May 2004.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise 0.5 percent on the month and for sales to be up 5.2 percent compared with April last year. Sales for March were also revised up significantly.
Easter this year fell in April but was in March in 2013.
Food sales jumped 3.6 percent in April from March and 6.3 percent on the year – its highest annual rise since January 2002 – due to better weather and sales promotions, as well as the later-than-usual Easter holiday, the Office for National Statistics said.
via CNBC
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