{"text":[[{"start":9.96,"text":"British retail sales rose 0.5 per cent in August, surpassing forecasts, as the hottest summer on record pushed up spending on food, drink and clothes."}],[{"start":20,"text":"Friday’s figure from the Office for National Statistics was stronger than the 0.2 per cent decline forecast by economists polled by Reuters, and followed a 0.5 per cent fall in July."}],[{"start":30.8,"text":"The figures provide the first official data on consumer spending in August, and suggest that consumer spending proved resilient despite mounting pressure on household finances."}],[{"start":41.08,"text":"Fuel costs have risen because of the war in the Middle East, while households also faced higher energy bills following July’s increase in the Ofgem price cap."}],[{"start":49.48,"text":"In the three months to August, a less volatile measure, retail sales were up 0.9 per cent compared with the previous three months."}],[{"start":56.68,"text":"“August’s rise in retail sales marks a positive end to an unpredictable summer for retailers, with extreme weather driving shifts in consumer behaviour that have been difficult to predict,” said Erin Brookes, European retail and consumer lead at consultancy Alvarez & Marsal."}],[{"start":72.4,"text":"She added that “retailers will be looking for a Budget that gives consumers the confidence to keep spending without adding further pressure to already stretched operating costs”."}],[{"start":81.92,"text":"Jon Gough, ONS senior statistician, said retail sales had been strong throughout the summer, with “supermarkets doing well in July and August” and retailers selling alcohol and beverages also performing well thanks to “promotions, the hot weather and the World Cup”."}],[{"start":97.8,"text":"Online sales, spending in department stores and on fashion all rebounded from falls in July, when spending was hit by the impact of promotional activity in June."}],[{"start":106.16,"text":"Instead, fuel sales fell in August as prices rose sharply, the ONS said. Retailers suggested that consumer habits may also be changing in reaction to high prices, such as only partially filling their tanks."}],[{"start":119.72,"text":"The positive signs for the UK economy followed data earlier this month which showed that the economy unexpectedly grew in July, in a boost to Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he prepares for a tough first Budget next month."}],[{"start":132.24,"text":"Paul Dales, economist at Capital Economics, calculated that even if retail sales volumes were flat in September, in the third quarter as a whole they would rise by 0.7 per cent, boosting GDP growth."}],[{"start":142.76,"text":"The expansion “would suggest that the drag on real incomes from the rises in energy prices and borrowing costs is being offset by other factors or households are still able and willing to reduce their saving rate to carry on spending at recent rates”."}],[{"start":158.22,"text":"Household finances are expected to come under increasing pressure in the second half of the year."}],[{"start":163.56,"text":"Inflation rose from 2.9 per cent in July to 3.1 per cent in August and is set to climb above 4 per cent next year, according to the Bank of England."}],[{"start":173.4,"text":"The central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 3.75 per cent on Thursday but signalled that interest rates may need to rise in response to inflationary pressures stemming from the Middle East energy crisis."}],[{"start":187,"text":"Mortgage rates have already risen since the start of the conflict, while falling employment numbers and slowing wage growth are adding to the pressure on household finances."}],[{"start":202.6,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789719298_4849.mp3"}