vinyl Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 UK retail sales rose 0.9 per cent in January compared with the previous month, official figures showed. The surprise lift followed a 0.6 per cent rise in December, according to the figures from the Office for National Statistics. Sales rose at thir fastest pace since April 2011, as consumers splashed out on furniture and sports goods, official data showed on Friday, adding to signs that the economy is on course for recovery. A string of strong business surveys and some stabilisation in the labour market have raised hopes that Britain's economy will avoid recession after contracting in the last three months of 2011. In contrast, economists had forecast a monthly fall of 0.4 per cent and an annual rise of 0.5 per cent. This compares with a monthly rise of 0.6 per cent in December, when shops lured customers with hefty pre-Christmas discounts. http://www.cityam.com/latest-news/retail-sale-jump-09pc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 A 0.9% increase in turnover is hardly 'large' It's also not turnover that keep companies in business, it's profit. I expect a large part of the uplift was clothing retailers flogging off all the jumpers no-one bought because it wasn't that cold for a very small, or non-existent profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 A 0.9% increase in turnover is hardly 'large' That would equate to 10.8% P/A. That's a higher growth rate than China. I expect a large part of the uplift was clothing retailers flogging off all the jumpers no-one bought because it wasn't that cold for a very small, or non-existent profit. So if it had been cold you would have expected people wouldn't have bought the warm clothing?:huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy lady Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 A couple of good months don't make a summer, but 1.5% growth in UK retail sales following some excellent export sales is a step in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mecky Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 UK retail sales rose 0.9 per cent in January compared with the previous month, official figures showed. The surprise lift followed a 0.6 per cent rise in December, according to the figures from the Office for National Statistics. Sales rose at thir fastest pace since April 2011, as consumers splashed out on furniture and sports goods, official data showed on Friday, adding to signs that the economy is on course for recovery. A string of strong business surveys and some stabilisation in the labour market have raised hopes that Britain's economy will avoid recession after contracting in the last three months of 2011. In contrast, economists had forecast a monthly fall of 0.4 per cent and an annual rise of 0.5 per cent. This compares with a monthly rise of 0.6 per cent in December, when shops lured customers with hefty pre-Christmas discounts. http://www.cityam.com/latest-news/retail-sale-jump-09pc Do the January Sales mean anything to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pb1977 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Do the January Sales mean anything to you? You would think that people would be spending more in the run up to Christmas than in the few weeks post Christmas. A lot of the major high street stores started their January sales in the weeks running up to Christmas. Despite all the doom and gloom that gets banded around, there is still alot of people with money to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Do the January Sales mean anything to you? It seems that the stock market and economists around the world neglected to pick up on that. That's probably because figures are seasonally adjusted. But as these are the first time in 8 years that figures have risen in both December and January, I presume they didn't have January sales whilst Labour were in office. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/feb/17/retail-spending-rise-uk-recession Shares rose and the pound strengthened after the release of data from the Office for National Statistics showing that the volume of spending in the high street and online rose by 0.9% in January. The increase – which represented the first back-to-back rises in December and January for eight years – was greeted with incredulity in the City, which had been braced for a 0.4% fall in retail sales volumes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo mint Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I hear that there was also a surplus in public finances last month for the first time in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Is this nominal sales, actual sales or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampersand Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I hear that there was also a surplus in public finances last month for the first time in years. not sure it was the first time in years, but I think it was the biggest monthly surplus for a few years - possibly due to the number of people paying their self assessment tax liability before the 31 January deadline and the effect of the cuts in public sector expenditure taking effect it is a stumble in the right direction though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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