After a disappointing drop in February, UK retail sales rebounded sharply in March. On a monthly basis, retail sales rose by 1.8% M/M, while an increase by only 0.5% M/M was expected. The details show that sales at predominantly food stores dropped by 0.3% M/M, while non-food retail sales increased by 3.0% M/M. Within non-food, strength was broad-based: textile, clothing & footwear (2.3% M/M), non-specialized stores (1.6% M/M), other stores (6.2% M/M), predominantly auto fuel (4.9% M/M) and household goods stores (0.9% M/M). While the outcome is good news for first quarter GDP, we believe that the strength will not sustain, as the figures were at least partly boosted by the unusually warm weather in March.