Post-Brexit high street sales soar by 5.9% despite grim economic forecasts

THE High Street enjoyed a huge post-Brexit vote bounce last month - thanks to warm weather and foreign shoppers taking advantage of the weak pound.

Sales were up by a whopping 5.9 per cent on July last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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Compared to June, they were up by 1.4 per cent, even though a rise of just 0.1 per cent was predicted.

Analysts said Britain went on a post-referendum “shopping spree” - in a “very positive sign” for the economy.

Sales of watches and jewellery were up 16.6 per cent year on year, the biggest jump since 2014.

It comes after disappointing figures in June, when sales suffered their sharpest fall in six months, down 0.9 per cent on May.

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Neil Wilson of ETX Capital said: “What Brexit? There is no stopping the British shopper.

“Today’s retail sales figures smashed expectations, signalling that consumers are not reining in their spending in the wake of the Brexit vote.

“Warm weather and a deluge of tourists drawn by the cheaper pound no doubt played their part, but this is clearly a very positive sign for the UK economy.”

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Average prices were down 2 per cent on a year earlier , and 0.8 per cent cheaper than in June.

The value of online sales increased by 16.7 per cent on July 2015, and were 1.2 per cent up on June this year.

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Laith Khalaf, of Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Britons reacted to the Brexit vote with a shopping spree, as consumers showed the referendum isn’t going to damage their spending habits, for the moment at least.

“So far the Brexit vote is failing to make a dent in hard economic data, despite confidence surveys being universally appalling.

“It’s early days yet, but evidence is gathering that a dip in sentiment may not be borne out by economic activity, either by consumers or businesses.”

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The pound strengthened against the dollar and the euro, after the results were published.

Howard Archer, the chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight, said the figures were a “major boost” to the growth prospects of the whole economy.

Shopping centre manager Capital & Regional said yesterday it had seen a rise in leasing activity at its sites since the vote.