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British retail sales rebounded in July helped by higher spending in department stores and on sports equipment after wet weather deterred shoppers earlier in the summer.
The quantity of goods bought in Great Britain rose 0.5 per cent between June and July, following a revised 0.9 per cent contraction in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
The reading for July was in line with analysts’ expectations.
Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Retail sales grew in July led by increases in department stores and sports equipment shops with both the Euros and discounting across many stores boosting sales.
“These increases were offset by a poor month for clothing and furniture shops, and falling fuel sales, despite prices at the pump falling,” she added.
The figures on retail sales come at the end of a big week of fresh data on the UK economy, covering economic growth, inflation and wage growth.
The numbers indicate that economic growth remained strong in the three months to June, following a solid rebound in the first quarter after last year’s technical recession.
The rise in inflation from 2 per cent to 2.2 per cent in July was less than expected, largely because of a notable slowdown in the growth of service prices, and wage growth rose at the lowest annual rate in almost two years in the three months to June.
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