21st February 2008
High street surge in January
Retail sales shot up in January by 0.8% – the strongest monthly gain for 11 months. The surprising increase, announced today by the Office for National Statistics, is four times the rate predicted by market watchers.
Overall, sales increased by 5.6% on the year in January. In December they had risen 2.8% year-on-year, though they fell by 0.2% on the month.
The positive results are a boost for retailers who were forced to slash prices following a dismal December to ensure sales remained buoyant. Prices of electrical goods were a record 14.9% lower during the month than at this time last year.
Household goods were the biggest contributors to the sales increase, jumping by 4.3% in a month. Non-store retailing – which includes online shopping – continued to soar, growing by 18% in the year to January.
"It's too soon to write off UK consumers," economist Vicky Redwood told Reuters. "These figures will clearly reassure the Monetary Policy Committee that the economy is not slowing too sharply."
According to Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, the news makes the Bank of England even less likely to cut interest rates again until May.
Overall, sales increased by 5.6% on the year in January. In December they had risen 2.8% year-on-year, though they fell by 0.2% on the month.
The positive results are a boost for retailers who were forced to slash prices following a dismal December to ensure sales remained buoyant. Prices of electrical goods were a record 14.9% lower during the month than at this time last year.
Household goods were the biggest contributors to the sales increase, jumping by 4.3% in a month. Non-store retailing – which includes online shopping – continued to soar, growing by 18% in the year to January.
"It's too soon to write off UK consumers," economist Vicky Redwood told Reuters. "These figures will clearly reassure the Monetary Policy Committee that the economy is not slowing too sharply."
According to Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, the news makes the Bank of England even less likely to cut interest rates again until May.
- 6th January 2009 Interest rates 'set to fall to record low'
- 6th January 2009 Businesses urged to take financial "MOT"
- 5th January 2009 Businesses urged to make redundancies 'last resort'
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