British retail sales rose 1.2 per cent in April, significantly overshooting analysts’ expectations as warm weather encouraged consumers to spend more. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the volume of goods sold to rise 0.2 per cent in the month, after a revised increase of 0.1 per cent in March.

Canadian retail sales grew by 0.8% in March from February, more than analysts had forecast, and looked set to have increased by 0.5% in April, Statistics Canada data indicated on Friday. The largest increase was the 4.

UK retail sales soared in April, continuing a surprisingly strong start to the year in a further sign that consumers are proving resilient in the face of rising bills and Donald Trump’s global trade war.