By Joshua Kirby
The U.K. retail sector recovered energetically in January, suggesting consumer spending can offer a boost to an economy that slipped into recession at the end of 2023.
Total retail volume increased by 3.4% over the month, Office for National Statistics figures showed Friday, twice the 1.7% jump forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. It largely reverses a 3.3% decline the previous month, and marks the largest increase in sales in over two years.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
