(Source: Daily Mail)
By Simon Duke, Daily Mail, London
April 22--The pound struck a 16-month high against the dollar following a triple dose of
upbeat economic news.
An unexpected rebound in retail sales, encouraging public spending
figures and further signs of life in the car industry sent sterling up more
than half a cent to $1.657 yesterday.
The triple slug of encouraging data will come as a welcome boost to the
government as the full impact of its austerity cuts begin to hit home this
month.
Shoppers indulged in a mini-splurge in March ahead of the national
insurance hike that came into effect earlier this month.
Retail volumes grew by 0.2pc in March following a worrying 0.9pc plunge
the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Economists had predicted a 0.5pc fall.
Food sales enjoyed their best month since last June, while sports goods
outlets and garden centres were able to cash in thanks to the unseasonably
mild weather, according to the ONS.
However, economists warned that consumer confidence will remain subdued
as the spending cuts kick in and food and energy prices continue to rise. This
week Bank of England policymakers warned that activity across the economy had
been to the "downside" last month, suggesting that the recovery could be
faltering.
Rate setter Martin Weale, who has been calling for a rise in borrowing
costs, yesterday expressed his surprise that growth had not been stronger
since Britain emerged from recession.
Although modest, the economic revival allowed the government to cut its
borrowings to UKpound141.1bn in the financial year just ended -- compared to
UKpound145.9bn predicted in last month's Budget.
Car production in the UK also rose last month, with a total of 135,052
vehicles coming off out of the factories -- a 14.8 per cent hike on March last
year.
-----
To see more of the Daily Mail, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html.
Copyright (c) 2011, Daily Mail, London
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.