Retail sales bounce15 Feb 2019 11:51
Retail sales bounced back sharply in January, rising by 1% on the previous month, official figures showed.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the amount of goods sold rose by 1%, after falling by 0.7% in December, with discounts in clothing helping to boost sales.
Compared with a year ago, retail sales were 4.2% higher in January.
That was the biggest annual rise since December 2016. The figures beat most economists' expectations.
"Clothing stores saw strong sales, luring consumers with price reductions, with food sales also growing after a slight dip after Christmas," said ONS statistician Rhian Murphy.