UK retail sales recovered in April driven by food and non-food turnover, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
The retail sales volume increased 0.5 percent month-on-month, in contrast to the 1.2 percent fall in March. Sales were forecast to grow more moderately by 0.3 percent.
Non-food stores sales advanced 1.0 percent, following a 1.8 percent fall in March, when poor weather conditions throughout most of March affected sales.
Likewise, food store sales grew 0.7 percent after a 0.8 percent drop in March. Meanwhile, automotive fuel sales decreased 2.2 percent, following a 0.1 percent rise. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales advanced 0.8 percent, reversing March's 1.4 percent decrease. Economists had forecast the volume to climb 0.3 percent.
On a yearly basis, retail sales dropped at a slower pace of 3.0 percent, in line with expectations, after a 3.9 percent decrease in March. Excluding auto fuel, the decline in retail sales eased to 2.6 percent from 4.0 percent.
