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UK retail sales edged up on a monthly basis in April, while an annual decline softened, according to the Office for National Statistics on Friday.
The ONS estimated that retail sales volumes in April rose 0.5% from the previous month, after a downwardly revised fall of 1.2% in March. The reading was slightly higher than FXStreet-cited market consensus of 0.3%. March was initially reported to have seen a 0.9% fall in retail sales.
‘Total non-food stores sales volumes (the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores) rose by 1.0% over the month,’ ONS said.
‘Sales volumes partially recovered from a fall of 1.8% in March 2023 when feedback from retailers suggested that poor weather conditions affected sales.’
Food stores sales volumes rose 0.7% during the month, but remained 2.7% behind their pre-Covid February 2020 levels.
On an annual basis, retail sales volumes fell 3.0% in April, compared to a downwardly revised fall of 3.9% in March. Market consensus had expected a 2.8% fall in April, while March was initially reported as a 3.1% decline.
Excluding fuel, retail sales volumes rose 0.8% month-on-month in April, compared to a 1.4% fall in March. Annually, they fell 2.6%, slowing from a 4.0% the month before.
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