High street sales jumped 1.7 per cent last month after a sluggish performance in January, official data revealed today.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the 1.7 per cent bump almost made up for the two per cent drop at the beginning of the year.

Annual sales were up 3.7 per cent last month, while retail prices fell 0.2 per cent, driven down by a fall in the price of fuel at the pumps.

The figures contradict a CBI poll of the UK’s top retailers, published earlier in the week, which showed sales increasing at their slowest rate since last November.