British retail sales surprisingly rose by 0.6% in September from August, when they fell by more than expected, official data showed today.
UK retail sales also jumped 0.6% last month compared with September 2010, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. Economists had expected flat sales month-on-month and a 0.7% annual rise.
The ONS added that sales fell by 0.4% in August from July after initially estimating a drop of 0.2%.
Retail sales had fallen in August as rioting across England shut shops and high inflation hit shoppers' spending power.
