The Office for National Statistics has revealed that UK retail sales unexpectedly rose strongly in February, driven by higher food sales at the supermarkets.
According to the BBC, sales grew one per cent last month from January, and by 5.5 per cent from February 2007. The figures have surprised experts, who had predicted sales last month to decline 0.2 per cent from January.
The findings may convince the Bank of England to delay cutting interest rates again.
“February's surprising sharp jump in retail sales, if taken at face value, suggests that a consumer slowdown hasn't even begun yet,” said Vicky Redwood, an economist at Capital Economics. “It's hard to see what is keeping consumers spending. Yet these figures suggest that they certainly are.”
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