Heat climate and Easter weekend boosted UK spending in April, says Barclays | Client spending

British households elevated their spending in April as unusually heat climate and the lengthy Easter weekend helped customers shrug off nervousness across the international economic system, new knowledge has prompt.

Client card spending grew by 4.5% in April in contrast with the identical interval final 12 months, the largest rise since June 2023, the excessive avenue financial institution Barclays discovered. Non-essential spending, reminiscent of on leisure or takeaway meals, rose by 5.1% final month, its highest charge in virtually two years.

The warmest April on file, mixed with a protracted Easter weekend, additionally meant extra buyers had been out on the excessive avenue. Spending in bodily retailers elevated by 6.9% after it dropped by 1.9% in March on a year-on-year foundation.

Julien Lafargue, a strategist at Barclays, mentioned financial sentiment was “surprisingly optimistic” even amid uncertainty across the impression of US tariffs on the economic system.

“The latest choice by the Financial institution of England to additional decrease rates of interest ought to add to this momentum. Equally, the commerce settlement reached between the US and the UK ought to present some a lot wanted visibility to companies.” he mentioned.

Final week the Financial institution agreed to chop rates of interest by 1 / 4 level to 4.25% and Keir Starmer introduced he had reached a commerce settlement with Donald Trump, the US president.

The Barclays knowledge chimed with separate analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), an business physique. It discovered retail gross sales rose by 4.3% throughout the March and April interval. Meals gross sales in April grew 8.2% in opposition to final 12 months, whereas non-food gross sales grew by 6.1%.

Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief govt, mentioned Easter falling in April this 12 months had contributed to the gross sales enhance and the sunny climate had led to a lift in client spending.

She mentioned: “Meals gross sales carried out effectively as folks introduced collectively their household and associates for Easter celebrations, whereas gross sales of DIY, homeware and gardening items shone brilliant as folks made the a lot of the climate.”

On-line furnishings gross sales rose by 7% in April, with family home equipment up 8%. Linda Ellett, of the consultancy KPMG, mentioned that this was seemingly a results of an increase in new owners resulting from stamp responsibility adjustments final month.

From 1 April, first-time consumers in England and Northern Eire now pay tax on houses value greater than £300,000, down from £425,000, and the brink for a lowered charge for first-time consumers will drop from £625,000 to £500,000.

The zero-tax stamp responsibility threshold that applies to all housing in England and Northern Eire additionally dropped from £250,000 to £125,000.

A rush of first-time consumers attempting to get forward of the stamp responsibility adjustments meant March was one of many busiest months ever for giant mortgage lenders, with Barclays reporting the variety of mortgage completions elevated by 50% within the UK.