UK retail sales extend recovery from virus slump

LONDON: British retail sales have climbed for the fifth month in a row, after a coronavirus-fuelled slump earlier this year, official data showed Friday. Sales by volume rose 1.5 percent in September from August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Retail sales were up 5.5 percent since February, one month before Britain went into lockdown. The ONS added that online sales declined slightly in September from August to stand at 27.5 percent of all sales. However, this was still higher than the 20.1 percent seen in February. And in the three months to September, total retail sales volumes soared by 17.4 percent compared with the prior three months.