UK retail sales grow faster than forecast in April due to clothing boost, says ONS

UK retail sales grew faster than hoped in April, rising 1.2% on the previous month and 4.7% compared to the April last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The monthly retail sales increase beat consensus forecasts of a 0.4% rise and more than reversed the 0.7% fall in March.

This has lifted expectations that national economic growth will regain momentum after gross domestic product (GDP) slowed in the first three months of the year.

Sales were boosted substantially in April by warmer weather lifting sales of summer clothing, which rose by 5.2% month-on-month, the strongest in four years, which economists said were partly due to summer clothing sales being pulled forward from the next few months.

The ONS said the year-on-year rise in April was the 25th consecutive month of sales growth, the longest period of sustained growth since May 2008.

"April’s strong retail sales figures offer another reason to think that the economic recovery is not about to fizzle out," said Paul Hollingsworth at Capital Economics.

Howard Archer at IHG Global Insight said the strong data would provide a "significant boost" to hopes of a GDP rebound in the second quarter but admitted it may fuel concerns that the economy remains too dependent on consumer spending.

"The prospects for retail sales and consumer spending look bright, as purchasing power has strengthened and should continue to do so," he added.

Despite this week's official dip into deflation, Archer felt there was little risk of consumers delaying purchases in the hope that prices will fall further over the coming months.

Economists at BNP Paribas said: "The strong April gives retail sales plenty of momentum at the start of Q2, such that even if ex-fuel sales were flat in May and June, they would still rise by around 1.5% quarter-on-quarter (q/q) for the quarter as a whole.

"While the link between q/q retail sales and consumption growth is patchy, today’s data do at least support the view that the economy will bounce back in Q2 from the soft Q1 growth rate of 0.3% q/q."