Rugby World Cup ups UK retail sales to 2-year high

British retail sales recorded their strongest monthly growth in almost two years last month, boosted by bumper beer sales linked to the Rugby World Cup hosted in England and Wales.

Retail sales volumes surged 1.9% on the month, far higher than economists’ forecasts for a 0.3% rise, the UK’s Office for National Statistics said yesterday, in a break with poor data in the previous two months.

For the third quarter as a whole, retail sales rose by 0.9%, up from 0.8% growth in the second quarter, and offering some hope that consumer spending supported Britain’s economy as a whole over a period when export demand faltered.

“Falling in-store prices and promotions around the Rugby World Cup are likely to be the main factors why the quantity bought in the retail sector increased in September at the fastest monthly rate seen since December 2013,” said ONS statistician Kate Davies.

Retail sales alone were likely to boost third-quarter UK GDP by 0.1%, the ONS added.

For the 12 months to September, retail sales were up by 6.5%, their biggest increase since November 2014 and well ahead of economists’ forecasts of a 4.8% rise.

The strong growth in sales volumes was supported by falling prices, with the measure of inflation used in the data showing store prices were down by 3.6% on the year.