UK retail sales volumes rebounded by 2.1% in May, having dropped by 1.1% in April and 0.5% in March, according to seasonally-adjusted official figures which partly reflect the effects of weather on shoppers.
The figures, published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, showed a 3.5% month-on-month rise in food sales volumes in May. This is the sharpest monthly increase in food sales since April 2011.
Non-food sales, the more discretionary element of consumer spending, rose by 0.7% in May.
Sales in the textiles, clothing and footwear category rose by 1.4% month-on-month in May.
But volumes in the non-specialised category, which includes department stores, fell by 0.1% last month. There was a 0.7% rise in sales in the household goods category.
The overall 2.1% month-on-month jump in sales was much greater than the 0.8% increase which had been forecast by the City.
It was the sharpest monthly rise in retail sales volumes since February, when they increased by 2.2% following falls in each of the preceding two months.
Martin Beck, UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said: "Continuing a recent run of good economic news, May's rise in the official measure of retail sales will have partly reflected the fading drag from the unusually cold weather seen earlier in the year.
"But the underlying retail picture appears to be strengthening."
He added: "May's 2.1% monthly rise in sales volumes more than reversed the falls seen in March and April. Food sales were particularly strong, with sales volumes up 3.5%. Store promotions appear to have played some role here. All other sectors, with the exception of non-specialised...stores, also saw monthly growth in volumes."
Mr Beck noted that some bounce-back in sales in May had always been likely given the cold weather-related drops seen in March and April.
However, he added: "May's weather was hardly shopper-friendly, with the lowest average temperature for that month since 1996. So the underlying retail picture may be strengthening."
Mr Beck meanwhile highlighted a possible boost to overall UK growth in the second quarter from the stronger retail sales.
He said: "The average level of sales for April and May is now 0.3% above the level seen in the first quarter of the year so, along with other sectors of the economy, retail sales may provide a modest boost to growth in Q2."
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at consultancy IHS Global Insight, said: "The 2.1% jump in retail sales in May is a seriously good performance, even seen in the context of following on from an appreciable drop in April when sales were held back by cold weather.
"Indeed, even if retail sales volumes (are) only flat in June, they (will) still have expanded 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter, which bodes well for second quarter GDP (gross domestic product) growth hopes."
Highlighting IHS Global Insight's forecast of 0.5% growth in GDP during the second quarter, Mr Archer added: "This is looking increasingly conservative given the recent stream of improved data and surveys across the economy."
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