BUSINESS LIVE: NatWest names new boss; Retail sales jump; Oil prices rise

Matt Dalton, Partner, Risk Consulting and Consumer Sector Leader, at Mazars:

‘The retail sales figure surprisingly exceeded expectations and rose at the fastest pace in almost three years. As inflation moderated, consumers took to the high street and opened their wallets in January, across all categories except clothing.

‘The release of the data is very positive reading for the UK economy going forward and is consistent with our view that a UK recession will not necessarily deepen or last for long.

“However, the slowdown in online retail sales is a cause for concern and we would expect this category to recover as well, before talking about any kind of sustainable upward consumer trend.”

UK retail sales grew at their fastest pace in almost three years in January, beating expectations, new ONS data shows.

Retail sales rose at a monthly rate of 3.4 percent cnet in January, according to the Office for National Statistics, compared with forecasts for a 1.5 percent rise. The increase was the largest since April 2021.

Sterling was last steady on the day at $1.259, having traded around $1.25815 ahead of the figures. Against the euro, the pound was also unchanged on the day at 85.46 pence.