Retail sales rose 2.6% in December, ONS

Retai salesAccording to the latest official figures released, the total retail sales rose 2.6 per cent during the month of december, which is its fastest pace in a period of nine years.

The Office for National Statistics figures showed that the retail sales rose at a strong pace during the month. However, some analysts have said that the figures are doubtful. ONS said the retail sales recorded a growth of 2.6 per cent compared to the previous month.

The growth of 2.6 per cent is much higher than analyst expectation of 0.4 per cent for the month of December. The data showed that department stores recorded a monthly sales increase of 8.7 per cent and total sales were 5.3 per cent higher than in the Christmas period of 2012, which is its fastest annual increase since 2004.

Some analysts pointed out that the British Retail Consortium survey showed that annual sales rose just 1.8 per cent during the month of December.