UK Retail Sales Rose in July

August 20 The Danish retail sales index rose 3.4 percent in July from a year earlier, the statistics office said on Thursday.

Compared with a year ago, sales rose by 4.2%.

The figure – which strips out fuel sales – was an impressive turnaround from a 0.3 per cent fall in June.

UK retail sales disappointed in July, coming in shy of what economists had forecast. The ONS said the sales of household electrical appliances and furniture rose strongly on the month, probably reflecting a pick-up in Britain’s housing market.

“But summer does not last all year, and with a few clouds forming on the horizon, this could be as good as it gets for shoppers and retailers alike”. It was the 29th consecutive month in which three-month on three-month sales had grown, the longest period of growth since records began in June 1996.

A pick-up in wage growth this year and near-zero inflation have helped to restore some of the spending power lost in the years after the financial crisis.