UK retail sales jump by 1.2% in April — beating expectations – NBC Connecticut

This is CNBC’s live blog covering European financial markets.

UK retail sales boost ‘won’t last,’ economist predicts

Alex Kerr, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, warned that “the sun won’t shine on [Britain’s] retail sector forever.”

“Although for the first time since 2015, excluding the pandemic, retail sales volumes have risen for four months in a row, April’s impressive 1.2% m/m rise was largely driven by the unusually warm weather,” he said in a note sent shortly after the figures were published.

“That boost won’t last. So even though consumer confidence ticked up slightly in May, we suspect retail sales growth will slow over the coming months.”

— Chloe Taylor

U.K. retail sales rise by better-than-expected 1.2% in April

U.K. retail sales rose by an estimated 1.2% in April on a monthly basis, data from Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.

The print exceeded a month-on-month rise of 0.2% anticipated by analysts, according to Reuters.

The April print marked a notable recovery from the previous month, when retail sales rose by 0.1% month-on-month. The March figure was revised down from a preliminary estimate of 0.4% growth in sales volumes.

The ONS said the April growth was helped by strong food store sales — which were up 3.9% on a monthly basis – that retailers attributed to good weather throughout the month.

— Chloe Taylor

What’s been happening outside of Europe?

Overnight in Asia, stock markets have been gripped by broadly positive momentum, after the U.S. and China agreed to keep communications open following a call between top officials.

On Wall Street, stock futures were little changed as investors continued to monitor elevated U.S. Treasury yields.

— Chloe Taylor

Here’s what to expect today

Investors will be monitoring economic data out of the European region, with figures due out on U.K. consumer confidence and retail sales as well as French consumer confidence data. A final print on Germany’s economic growth will also follow.

It’s a quieter day on earnings, with British Land and AJ Bell set to update shareholders on their finances.  

— Chloe Taylor

Opening calls

Good morning from London.

It’s just past 7 a.m. in the U.K. capital, and futures are pointing to broadly positive movement expected in regional stock markets at the open.

FTSE 100 futures are up 0.2%, DAX futures have gained 0.1%, and French CAC 40 futures are marginally higher.

— Chloe Taylor