Friday, 18th June 2004 (4224 views)

High street jewellers in the UK have been experiencing positive sales growth, as latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show retail sales increased by 0.8 per cent in May.

Figures have shown consumers have not been put off by the rise in interest rates, which was planned to help curb consumers spending,

The increase in May saw a full year of no pull back in monthly sales, an occurrence which has not happened since 1986.

Howard Archer, an economist at Global Insight, told BBC News Online: "The surge in retail sales in May, despite an interest rate hike early in the month, highlights how unperturbed consumers were by the Bank of England's gradualist approach to raising interest rates."

The three-month retail sales rate was also high, up 1.7 per cent on the previous three months.

 

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