21st Feb 2025 07:11
(Alliance News) - UK retail sales topped expectations at the start of the year, numbers from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.
Retail sales volumes surged by 1.7% in January from December, well-ahead of the FXStreet cited consensus of 0.3%. In December, retail sales had fallen 0.6%, the reading downwardly revised from 0.3%.
The ONS said: "Food store sales volumes grew strongly in January 2025, following falls in recent months."
On an annual basis, retail sales rose 1.0% last month, easing from a 2.8% rise in December. Growth of 0.6% was expected for January, so the latest reading topped consensus.
The ONS added: "More broadly, sales volumes fell by 0.6% in the three months to January 2025, compared with the three months to October 2024, but rose by 1.4%, compared with the three months to January 2024."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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