United Kingdom: Retail sales expand at quickest pace since May 2024 in January
Latest reading: Retail sales grew 1.7% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in January (December: -0.6% mom). January’s result marked the best reading since May 2024, and was far above market expectations. A surge in food store sales drove the rise, outweighing falls in several other subsectors.
On an annual basis, retail sales grew 1.0% in January, which was below December’s 2.9% expansion. Meanwhile, annual average retail sales growth to 0.5% in January (December: +0.5%), signaling trend in the retail trade sector.