UK retail sales growth tops forecast in April on warm weather boost

UK retail sales rose at a faster pace than expected last month, aided by warm weather, numbers on Friday showed.

Retail sales volumes expanded 1.2% in April from March, numbers from the Office for National Statistics showed. They had risen 0.1% in March from February, an expansion downwardly revised from an initially reported 0.4% climb.

The April reading comfortably topped the FXStreet cited consensus, which had pencilled in growth of 0.2%.

‘Food store sales volumes grew strongly in April 2025, which retailers attributed to the good weather,’ the ONS said.

Year-on-year, retail sales surged 5.0% in April, the pace of growth accelerating from 1.9% in March, and beating consensus of 4.5%.

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