Soaring temperatures in the UK boosted sales of food, alcohol and clothing in July to fuel hopes over the recovery in consumer spending.

Retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in July on a month earlier and were up three per cent on July 2012 – the steepest rise for two-and-a-half years – driven by soaring sales at supermarkets and department stores.

The heatwave saw shoppers stock up on barbecue goods to drive food sales volumes 2.1 per cent higher on a year earlier, the sharpest rise in more than two years, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

With consumer confidence on the rise and continued growth in employment, the retail sector looks set fair for the third quarter, even as the boost from the weather fades

The 1.1 per cent gain was well ahead of economists’ average hopes for a 0.7 per cent month-on-month increase and will add to hopes that overall third-quarter GDP growth can exceed the 0.6 per cent gain seen in the April to June quarter.

It was the third consecutive rise in month-on-month retail sales, following June’s 0.2 per cent increase.

The figures suggest a likely boost from the birth of Prince George and British sporting success, including Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory, Lions rugby, and Ashes cricket.

Department stores saw July sales surge 3.1 per cent on a year earlier, while sales of textiles, clothing and footwear were up 1.4 per cent.

Supermarkets also reported higher sales of garden furniture, although household goods stores were a rare weak spot, with sales falling 2.3 per cent on a year earlier.

Month on month, there were dips in sales volumes across department stores and textile, clothing and footwear retailers, but supermarket sales grew 2.5 per cent.

A third consecutive month of rising retail sales is the latest sign that Britain’s recovery is gathering pace, following robust data from the services sector as well as upbeat figures from manufacturing and construction.

The Bank of England recently introduced a radical new policy to bolster consumer and business spending, saying interest rates will not rise from their record 0.5 per cent low until unemployment falls to seven per cent from 7.8 per cent.

Martin Beck, UK economist at Capital Economics, said shoppers were “lured outside by the sunshine”.

He said: “With consumer confidence on the rise and continued growth in employment, the retail sector looks set fair for the third quarter, even as the boost from the weather fades.”

James Knightley, economist at ING Bank, said the data suggests a “decent increase” in GDP in the third quarter.

But he added that, with the economy also creating jobs, interest rate hikes are likely to come much sooner than late 2016 as implied by the bank.

The data tallies with recent official figures which showed steep discounting by fashion retailers helped drive a drop in consumer price index inflation, to 2.8 per cent in July from 2.9 per cent a month earlier.

And it suggests Britain’s high streets are recovering after a weather-hit start to the year and five years of economic malaise.

Shoppers’ migration to the internet continued, with the average weekly amount spent online rising 10.7 per cent to £586.6 million (€687m) .

The amount spent online accounted for 9.5 per cent of all retail spending, excluding automotive fuel.

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