After a heavy plunge in September, British retail sales grew much more strongly than expected in October. National Statistics stated that retail sales volumes rose 0.8 per cent on the month after a fall of 0.4 per cent in September, which had been their weakest performance since January as mild weather put shoppers off buying winter clothes. Clothing sales remained weak as mild weather continued in October. Total sales increased by 4.3 per cent in October against the same month last year while economists had expected a rise of 0.3 per cent on the month and a gain of 3.8 per cent on the year. Clothing and footwear sales rose by a monthly 0.5 per cent in October, failing to make up for a slump of nearly 6 per cent in September.
