British retail sales surged in April as consumers took advantage of falling prices and unusually warm weather encouraged shoppers to buy new clothes.

Thursday's strong official data suggest a slowdown in the economy seen at the start of the year may prove short-lived.

Retail sales volumes rose by a stronger-than-expected 1.2 percent from March, the biggest monthly increase since November, the Office for National Statistics said. Annual sales growth picked up pace to 4.7 percent.

The pound jumped to its highest level in two months against the euro and strengthened by 1 percent against the dollar.

Quarterly growth in the April-June period could accelerate to 1 percent after slowing to 0.3 percent in the first three months of 2015, he added.

Some of the sharp increase in sales was due to a surge in purchases of clothing, textiles and footwear, which jumped by 5.2 percent in April from March, the biggest monthly rise in four years though one which might prove to be a one-off boost.

Excluding fuel, sales were also up by 1.2 percent in monthly terms and by 4.7 percent compared with April last year.

A drop in fuel sales in March, when oil prices showed some recovery from their previous slump, had caused overall retail sales in that month to plunge by 0.7 percent.

By contrast, fuel sales in April rose 2.0 percent from March, the ONS said.

Britain's consumers have been the main driver of the country's economic recovery which began in 2013. A fall in inflation, which turned negative in April for the first time since 1960, and a pick-up in wages have helped restore some of the spending power lost in the years after the financial crisis.

But food sales fell by 0.1 percent in April, underscoring a weakness in demand faced by some supermarkets.

Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, reported its worst quarterly sales in more than five years on Tuesday and its chief executive said customers were "not yet cash-confident". (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie