"Sales were boosted as consumers put off purchases of school uniforms until early September and that new winter collections had increased sales"
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Strong demand for winter clothing and school uniforms pushed U.K. retail sales sharply up in September. According to the U.K. Office for National Statistics, sales volumes gained 0.6% from August, when they lost 0.1%. On a yearly basis sales including fuel added 2.5% last month, above expectations for a 2.1% increase.
"Sales were boosted as consumers put off purchases of school uniforms until early September and that new winter collections had increased sales," the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
"Although retail services form a relatively small share of GDP, I think it shows that consumer activity has normalised after those second quarter distortions," said Ross Walker, economist at Royal Bank of Scotland.
"We're more confident after these figures that we'll get the sort of quarterly growth figure we want."
The FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.10 per cent to 5,917.05. The broader FTSE All-Share Index added 0.12 per cent to 3,088.95.
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