Retail sales show strong growth in UK in December 2013

UK retail sales sector performed well in December 2013, with small stores outperforming big ones, according to official figures released on Friday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales jumped by 2.6 percent during December compared with the previous month, beating the previous predictions of economist at an increase of 0.3 percent.

The ONS said “in December 2013, the amount spent in the retail industry increased by 6.1 percent compared with December 2012 and by 2.6 percent compared with November 2013.”

The average weekly spend in the retail industry in December last year was 8.8 billion pounds (14.5 billion U.S. dollars), compared with 8.5 billion pounds in the same period of 2012 and 7.5 billion pounds in the previous month.

The annual growth for the retail industry was up 5.3 percent in December year on year.

17.01.2014
MEDIA