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Retail sales 'surprisingly good'

UK retail sales were stronger than expected this month, the Guardian reports.

According to a new sales index from the Confederation of British Industry, distributive trade in shops has climbed from -3 in February to +1 in March.

This beats out retailers' own expectations of -2 - and trounces the industry analysts' prediction of -5.

Commenting on the figures, economist at Global Insight Howard Archer said that sales of durable goods had been hit hard in March.

"This suggests that consumers are increasingly reluctant to make major big-ticket purchases," he added.

"The housing market slowdown is clearly also having a significant dampening impact on sales in this sector."

Moreover, retailers are still gloomy about their future outlook - with an overall sales expectation of -3 for upcoming months.

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