UK retail sales unexpectedly increase in March on food

LONDON, Apr 21 (Bloomberg): UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in March as the biggest jump in spending on food in 10 months outweighed a decline at other shops. Sales rose 0.2 per cent from February, when they dropped 0.9 per cent, the office for National Statistics said Thursday in London. The median forecast of 20 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 0.5 per cent decline. From a year earlier, sales increased by 1.3 per cent. The report suggests a surge in commodity prices and inflation that's double the central bank's 2 per cent target has yet to dent shoppers' spending at a time when they face a government budget squeeze. The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5 per cent this month and minutes of the meeting show officials saw risks that an increase to tame price gains could hurt confidence. "The figures show pretty slow unexciting growth, but growth nonetheless," said Philip Rush, an economist at Nomura International Plc in London. "It's relatively encouraging for the Bank of England, and they'll take some comfort from signs the consumer is returning to more stable though muted growth."