UK retail sales strong

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UK retail sales strong

Retail sales rose at their fastest annual pace in nearly two years in January, according to a new survey.

Figures released by the Confederation of British Industry showed that 53 per cent of respondents reported sales up on a year earlier, against just 15 per cent who said they were down.

The new sales figures give a balance of +38, up from +33 in December and the highest level since April 2002, and retailers remained optimistic about the outlook for February.

However, the CBI warned that increased sales growth may have come at the expense of retailers' margins, following an early start to the New Year sales.

The CBI said that apart from clothing, where retailers reported the second consecutive monthly fall, most sectors did well, with booksellers and stationers reporting their best performance in nearly six years. Sales of furniture and carpets rose at their fastest in nearly four years and shops selling TVs and DVD players also reported strong growth.

The CBI data follows official numbers for December which also showed strong consumer demand.

The retail data will further fuel speculation that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is due to raise interest rates by a quarter per cent this week for the second time in three months.

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