(Photo by Alberto Pezzali/NurPhoto via Getty Images)LONDON — Stronger-than-expected January retail sales provided a glimmer of light for the struggling British economy on Friday — and suggest that the country's recession will be short-lived, according to some economists. Sales rebounded by 3.4% from December, according to the Office for National Statistics, the strongest monthly gain since April 2021. The latest figures follow the news of Thursday that the British economy entered a technical recession in the final quarter of 2023. British retail sales meanwhile remain 1.3% below their pre-pandemic level from February 2020, according to the ONS. Kris Hamer, director of insight at the British Retail Consortium, said two months of higher sales volumes over the last three months were "promising" after 19 months of decline.

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Persons: Alberto Pezzali, Joe Maher, Maher, —, Kris Hamer, Hamer, Kallum Pickering, Pickering Organizations: Charing Cross, Getty, Office, National Statistics, Reuters, Gross, Capital Economics, British Retail Consortium Locations: Charing, London, England, –