British retail sales surge in October

Retail sales in Britain rebounded sharply last month on strong clothing demand, official data showed Thursday, as shoppers brushed off Brexit jitters.

Sales by volume jumped by 1.9 percent in October compared with September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

That easily outstripped market expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent.

"October's surge in retail sales partly reflects a rebound in clothing purchases from weather-related weakness in September," said analyst Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Economics.

"Clothing sales then rose in October as the weather returned to seasonal norms and consumers undertook purchases they forewent the previous month."

Analysts added that the impact of Britain's shock EU exit referendum, held on June 23, had been muted on the high street.

"Retail sales numbers have shown a strong increase... as the UK economy continues to show a strong recovery despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit," noted GKFX analyst James Hughes.

"Many had anticipated that spending by consumers would have been hit hard but... it seems that Brexit is not yet a factor affecting individual spending."

Source: AFP