RETAIL sales have outstripped expectations to rise by 2.3 per cent in April compared with the month before, thought to be in part due to good weather.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales were up by 4 per cent compared with April last year, exceeding forecasts of 1 per cent monthly growth and 2 per cent year-on-year growth.
It said: "Anecdotal evidence from retailers suggests that good weather contributed to growth."
However on a rolling three-month basis, which partially removes single month fluctuations, sales also picked up slightly.
The ONS said: "The underlying pattern, as measured by the three month on three month estimate, showed a slight increase in April 2017 following a short period of contraction, increasing by 0.3 per cent."
Average prices slowed slightly in April, falling from 3.3 per cent in March to 3.1 per cent.
The pound jumped on the news, rising 0.5 per cent to over 1.30 US dollars.
Against the euro, sterling was 0.7 per cent higher at 1.17 euros.
Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Given Wednesday's news that real wages are now falling, these retail sales data was always going to be closely scrutinised.
"The theory went that squeezed household budgets would likely hit retailers in the pocket too. But in fact the figures beat expectations handsomely, with sales in April 2.3 per cent higher than in March and growing 4 per cent year-on-year.
"April's figures were always expected to be better than March, because of the timing of the Easter holiday, but economists had forecast a smaller rebound of 1 per cent, and much more subdued annual growth of 2 per cent."
The figures are a turnaround from last month, when the ONS reported retail sales recording their biggest fall for seven years in the three months to March as rising living costs ate into household spending.
Sales fell by 1.4 per cent over the three-month period, while also sinking well below expectations to drop by 1.8 per cent on the month to March.
The pound's slump since the Brexit vote has ratcheted up everyday prices as manufacturers pass down soaring costs to consumers and imported goods become more expensive.
Graeme MacLaughlin, relationship director corporate banking at Barclays Northern Ireland, said: "The later Easter this year, coupled with an improvement in the weather, helped boost footfall in April, which as this data shows was converted into better sales figures.
" In addition, the continued weakness of sterling is making Northern Ireland an attractive retail location for shoppers from the Republic – a trend we would expect to continue into the summer months.
"Although these factors will certainly have contributed, the scale of the increase has perhaps exceeded even the most optimistic expectations, and this really is a great result for the sector."
He added: “The good news will come as welcome relief for retailers contending with a range of challenges at the moment, from continued cost pressures in part linked to the pound’s relative weakness, to consumers being more reluctant to part with their cash for big ticket items.
"The slight slowdown in the rate of price inflation will make happy reading for those consumers, but it remains to be seen how sustainable this level of price increases will be in the coming months as rising costs for retailers show no sign of dissipating and margins are likely to be squeezed further.”
