UK consumer spending in March rose by 1.1% as warm weather, rising wages and falling inflation boosted household incomes. The increase was the most in two and a half years and confounded Brexit fears and economists' predictions. Figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed March sales increased for the third month in a row, growing by 6.7%, against a predicted fall of 0.3%, while Q1 2019 sales were up 1.6%, the biggest increase since August 2018. However, the Bank of England said it will restrict consumer credit this year and credit card defaults are at their highest since 2015.
UK consumer spending in March rose by 6.7% as warm weather, rising wages and falling inflation boosted household incomes. The increase was the most in two and a half years and confounded Brexit fears and economists' predictions. Figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed March sales increased for the third month in a row, growing by 1.1%, against a predicted fall of 0.3%, while Q1 2019 sales were up 1.6%, the biggest increase since August 2018. However, the Bank of England said it will restrict consumer credit this year and credit card defaults are at their highest since 2015.