BUSINESS LIVE: NatWest names new boss; Retail sales jump; Oil prices rise

Matt Dalton, partner, risk consulting and consumer sector leader, at Mazars:

‘The retail sales number -surprisingly-blew past expectations, rising at the fastest pace in nearly three years. As inflation moderated, consumers hit main street and opened their wallets in January, in every category bar clothing.

‘The data release is a very positive read for the UK economy going forward, and consistent with our view that a UK recession will not necessarily deepen or indeed last long.

‘Slower online retail sales is a cause for concern, however, and we would expect this category to pick up too, before we talk about any sort of a sustainable bullish consumer trend.’

UK retail sales grew at their fastest pace in nearly three years in January, beating expectations, fresh ONS data shows.

Retail sales rose at a monthly rate of 3.4 per cnet in January, according to the Office for National Statistics, compared with forecasts for an increase of 1.5 per cent. The rise was the biggest since April 2021.

Sterling was last flat on the day at $1.259, having traded around $1.25815 prior to the numbers. Against the euro , the pound was also unchanged on the day at 85.46 pence.