Sun shines on high street as retail sales recover after Brexit vote

Britain’s high streets have bounced back this summer with “sizzling” figures, calming fears that Brexit had put a damper on sales.

Official figures showed retail sales surged by 1.4 per cent in July, exceeding City expectations of a meagre 0.1 per cent rise. Analysts said the figures confirmed that bad weather rather than Brexit worries were to blame for a 0.9 per cent slump in June, the sharpest fall for six months.

Economist Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight said: “The sizzling retail sales performance in July was helped by the warm weather boosting clothing sales.” He said the pound’s fall may have encouraged tourists to splash out on expensive jewellery and watches.

Paul Morales, a retail specialist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Consumer spending habits have not fallen as sharply following the referendum as some had forecast.

“Retailers will be hoping that the current good weather holds, and that the feel-good factor being created by the Olympics translates to further spending on food and drink and Games-related merchandise.”

Compared with the same time last year July sales were up 5.6 per cent.

Sterling rose 0.4 per cent against the dollar on the news and by 0.2 per cent against the euro.

The Office for National Statistics said average store prices, including petrol stations, dropped by two per cent from a year earlier and were down 0.8 per cent on June.