United Kingdom: Retail sales surprise on the upside in March
Latest reading: Retail sales rose 0.4% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in March, which was a deterioration from February’s 0.7% increase and contrasted market expectations for a decline. Good weather boosted sales at non-food stores in the month, particularly clothing sales.
On an annual basis, retail sales grew 2.7% in March, which was above February’s 1.8% expansion. Moreover, the trend improved modestly, with the annual average growth of retail sales coming in at 0.7% in March, up from February’s 0.6% reading.