Official figures show that British retail sales unexpectedly jumped in July, though prices rose at their fastest rate in a decade.
The Office for National Statistics said sales rose by 0.8% last month, wrongfooting analysts who had forecast a 0.3% decline. That meant the annual rate of growth was 2.1%, the lowest since February 2006.
Sales growth was broadly-based with the household goods, clothing and footwear, and other stores categories all reporting strong rises on the month.
Prices on average were 1.6% higher than a year ago, the biggest jump since May 1998. This was driven by a sharp increase in the price of food which surged 6.2% over the year - its biggest increase since March 1992.
Recent ONS retail sales data have been very volatile with a record rise in May followed by a record fall in June. The latter fall was revised to show a drop of 4.3% from the previously reported 3.9%.
But the data suggest that retail spending is holding up well in the face of a slide in house prices, rising unemployment and sharp rises in household bills.
