Retail Sales Surge in June

According to official figures, after a pronounced drop of sales in UK shops during May, sales shot up 1.2% in June. This most likely comes because of an increase in summer clothing purchases as the public attempt to deal with the hot weather of this season.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sales rose 2.9% during June of 2008. In an effort to encourage consumers to spend, shops have pushed their summer sales forward and this has combined nicely with the heatwave to trigger additional purchases.
Although economists had expected a 0.3% rise in retail this June after a drop of 0.9% this May, it appears that sales in retail are in fact quite healthy.
Clothing retailer Next said that the fortunate weather had boosted its sales to an extent that they felt comfortable raising their profit forecast.
Of course, all of this comes thanks to the easy access that consumers have to store cards and other forms of personal credit, so there could be a rise in individual debt following not far behind.
Some analysts believe that this impressive improvement in retail sales figures supports the notion that the worst of this current recession is now over.
It is expected that the Economic growth figures due Friday will show that the overall UK economy shrank by 0.4% from April to June of 2009. Compared to the 2.4% contraction for the same period of time in 2008, this is certainly an improvement. Yet, analysts insist that retail sales are mercurial and that UK households will most likely continue to struggle economically.
According to the ONS, textile, clothing and footwear sales in retail stores rose 11.3% compared to 2008, yet there was a decline in big-ticket household items sales, as well.

According to official figures, after a pronounced drop of sales in UK shops during May, sales shot up 1.2% in June. This most likely comes because of an increase in summer clothing purchases as the public attempt to deal with the hot weather of this season.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sales rose 2.9% during June of 2008. In an effort to encourage consumers to spend, shops have pushed their summer sales forward and this has combined nicely with the heatwave to trigger additional purchases.

Although economists had expected a 0.3% rise in retail this June after a drop of 0.9% this May, it appears that sales in retail are in fact quite healthy.

Clothing retailer Next said that the fortunate weather had boosted its sales to an extent that they felt comfortable raising their profit forecast.

Of course, all of this comes thanks to the easy access that consumers have to store cards and other forms of personal credit, so there could be a rise in individual debt following not far behind.

Some analysts believe that this impressive improvement in retail sales figures supports the notion that the worst of this current recession is now over.

It is expected that the Economic growth figures due Friday will show that the overall UK economy shrank by 0.4% from April to June of 2009. Compared to the 2.4% contraction for the same period of time in 2008, this is certainly an improvement. Yet, analysts insist that retail sales are mercurial and that UK households will most likely continue to struggle economically.

According to the ONS, textile, clothing and footwear sales in retail stores rose 11.3% compared to 2008, yet there was a decline in big-ticket household items sales, as well.

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