Recovery gains credibility from latest figures

20 August 2010

New data on retail sales, tax receipts and the level of public debt for the third quarter of the year suggest that the economy is maintaining a level of recovery.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales climbed 1.1 per cent on the month, the most impressive rate of expansion since February, comfortably outstripping the predicted 0.4 per cent increase.

The figures appear to indicate that slowdown in economic growth has yet to infiltrate the high street.

Meanwhile, a 38 per cent rise in the take from corporate tax saw public borrowing fall from £6.1 billion to £3.8 billion in July.

Overall, monthly tax receipts rose 10.5 per cent compared with the same period last year.

However, a Treasury spokesman said that the optimistic figures came with a warning: "Tax receipts remain below their pre-recession peak and the UK is still forecast to have the highest deficit in the G20 this year, which is why the Budget announced measures to bring borrowing down."