The rise has surpassed economists’ expectations
Retail sales continued moving up in March with a rise of 5.4% as Covid restrictions are increasingly being eased.
The rise surpassed economists’ expectations of a monthly increase of 1.5%, according to data released by the ONS on Friday.
Sales were 1.6% higher than in February, before the pandemic impacted the UK economy.
The ONS said the data reflected “the effect of the easing of coronavirus restrictions on consumer spending.”
Additional figures released by the ons revealed that the UK government borrowed in excess of £303.1bnover the last financial year. That represents an increase in £246bn compared to the previous year.
UK borrowing came in at 14.5% of GDP, the highest since 1946, when it was at 15.2%.
The figures are a result of the increase in public spending, as well as tax cuts, aimed at managing the negative impact of the pandemic.
Commenting on the new ONS data, Jon Hudson, fund manager of the Premier Miton UK Growth Fund, said: “Despite the country being in lockdown during March, the 5.4 per cent growth in retail sales volumes were surprisingly strong.
“Clothing stores in particular saw an impressive jump of 17.5 per cent as consumers spent their forced savings accumulated over the past year and readied their wardrobes for a more normal summer.”