The Office of National Statistics said on Thursday that retail sales in Britain rose 3.5 percent in February from the same month last year, exceeding expectations.

A jump of 2.9 percent had been forecasted by economists. ONS said that measured by value, retail sales rose 4.9 percent.

From February 2009, sales rose 0.9 percent by value in stores listed as "predominantly food stores" and 8.1 percent in stores listed as "predominantly non-food stores."

There was a jump of 21.2 percent in sales by value for online and catalog outlets. For gas stations, sales were 1.5 percent above February 2009.

Rising 0.5 percent in food stores and 8.4 percent in other outlets, by volume, sales increased in similar fashions. Motor grade gasoline sales by volume dropped 15.7 percent in February from the same month a year ago.

There has been a rise in Retail prices by 1.6 percent from February of 2009. (With Inputs from Agencies)