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UK Retail sales surge in March

It was a relatively quiet day in term of economic data from across the Atlantic, and hence investor attention was largely focused on the few releases out of Europe. The German Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 109.9 in April, representing the highest level since July 2011 and suggesting that Europe’s largest economy is leaving its peers behind. Even closer to home, there was good news for the UK as retail sales surged the most in over a year, pushing sterling up against other major currencies as investors became more optimistic about the UK’s economic outlook. Retail sales were up 1.8% month on month, and 3.3% year on year, although the figure was largely boosted by panic petrol buying (up 4.9% on the month), unseasonably warm weather through the month and an early Easter.

Global indices were broadly higher, with German and the STOXX50 indices the best performers with the 1% plus gains. FTSE 100 once put on 27.6 point (0.5%) to finish at 5772. The Spanish 10 year government bond yield, a closely watched barometer of Eurozone sentiment, was once again above 6% indicating troubles are very much still rumbling on in the country and the wider continent.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James .