UK retail sales up 0.5% in April

Follows 1.2% fall in March

UK retail sales volumes increased by 0.5% in April 2023, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

The figure shows signs of "partial recovery", after retail sales fell 1.2% in March - revised from the previous figure of 0.9%, the ONS said. When compared to pre-Covid levels in February 2020, volumes were still 0.8% lower, but 16.5% higher in value terms. UK inflation drops to 8.7% in April Non-food volumes increased by 1% after falling 1.8% in March due to poor weather, while food sales rose by 0.7%, after again falling by 0.8% the previous month. In comparison, food stores sales volumes were 2.7% below pre-pandemic levels of February 2020, the ONS said. Sophie Lund-Yates,...