24th Jul 2026 07:12
(Alliance News) - UK retail sales were stronger than expected last month, numbers from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday, with annual growth spiking to the loftiest level since January.
UK retail sales volumes surged 4.2% year-on-year in June, picking up speed from 3.5% in May. The June figure topped the FXStreet-cited consensus, which had pencilled in a slowdown in annual retail sales growth to 2.3%.
It was the chunkiest annual surge since a 4.6% rise in January.
Stripping out automotive fuel, year-on-year sales growth picked up to 5.4% in June, from 4.9% in May and ahead of consensus of 3.2%. It was similarly the sharpest growth since January, when sales rose 5.6% on-year when stripping out automotive fuel.
Overall, retail sales rose 1.0% in June from May, beating expectations of a 0.3% decline. Monthly growth cooled from 1.2% in May from April. Excluding fuel, sales rose 1.1% monthly in June, after a 1.2% rise in May from April. The ex-fuel reading topped expectations of a 0.3% decline.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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