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| UK retail sales sees strong rise in May | UK retail sales sees strong rise in May |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| UK retail sales recorded a larger-than-expected rise last month, helped by a strong increase in food sales. | |
| Sales rose 2.1% in May from the month before, and were up 1.9% from a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). | |
| Supermarket discounts helped to boost food sales, which rose 3.5% from April, and online sales continued to rise. | |
| Analysts said that the figures were further evidence that the UK economy was continuing to recover. | |
| 'Surprisingly positive' | |
| May's sales increase was a big upswing compared with April, when High Street sales fell 1.1% after bad weather discouraged shoppers. | |
| The rebound in sales was widespread across most stores, the ONS said. | |
| "Feedback from retailers suggested that promotions on summer ranges led to this increase in sales." | |
| The ONS said that online sales continued to show strong growth, rising 10.3% from a year earlier. | |
| Commenting on the figures, Philip Rush of Nomura said: "It's surprisingly positive - even stronger than we expected. Food store sales bounced back very strongly and the other big surprise was clothing stores." | |
| Sales at textile, clothing and footwear stores rose 1.1% year-on-year. |