British retail sales rose at the fastest pace for more than a year last month as the warmest March for half a century boosted purchases of clothing and gardening products and panic buying lifted motor fuel demand.

Sales including motor fuel gained 1.8 per cent from February, when they fell 0.8 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said. Sales excluding fuel climbed 1.5 per cent.

The data add to evidence that the UK economy returned to growth in the first quarter, though the outlook remains fragile as inflation outpaces wages, continuing the squeeze on household budgets.

“There may be signs the consumer is returning to life,” said Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank in London. “In a wider context, it’s added a bit more to consumption in the first quarter and therefore boosted the GDP number slightly. I think it’ll be sufficient to avoid a negative number.”

Sales were boosted by the warmest March since 1957, which increased demand for clothing and footwear and spending at garden centres. – (Bloomberg)