LONDON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- British retail sales figures rebounded in June after a drop in May, indicating that the economy is performing well as consumers shrug off fears of Brexit uncertainty.
Retail sales rose 0.6 percent in June, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures released on Thursday.
This was slightly above the experts' consensus expectation of a 0.4 percent rise. The year-over-year growth rate increased to 2.9 percent, from 0.9 percent in May, also a little above the consensus, 2.6 percent.
Unusually warm weather in June could have been expected to boost figures further, last month was the fifth warmest June since 1910, and hot weather boosts food and clothing sales.
But food sales fell by 0.5 percent month-to-month, and clothing sales increased by just 0.4 percent.
The improvement in retail sales was driven by a 3.3 percent rebound in household goods sales, following a 5.8 percent fall in May, and a 2.8 percent jump in non-store sales, following a 1 percent fall in the previous month.
Retail sales figures, an indication of the strength of consumer spending which drives the main sector of the economy services, has now rebounded as a whole of Q2 over a poor Q1.
"It was encouraging that the 0.6 percent monthly expansion exceeded the consensus expectation of a 0.4 percent rise, and means that the 1.5 percent quarterly rise in Q2 more than offset the 1.4 percent fall in Q1," Paul Hollingsworth, UK economist with Capital Economics, a London-based economic analysis firm, told Xinhua.
Strong retail sales growth is an indication of continued economic robustness, and are a positive herald to the more comprehensive GDP growth figures due next week.
"To the extent that retail sales provide a signal about the pace of overall household spending growth, this is another reason to think that next week's GDP figures should show a re-acceleration in GDP growth in Q2," said Hollingsworth.
Current talks between the UK and the European Union (EU) are a reminder of the political and economic uncertainty facing the UK as it exits the union.
Uncertainty can cause consumers to hesitate.
However, Hollingsworth said: "Retail sales figures are very volatile on a month-by-month basis. And the heatwave in June provided a boost to clothing sales that may not be sustained. Nonetheless, the fact that growth in sales values also accelerated in June suggests that households are not tightening their belts in response to higher inflation or Brexit uncertainty."
