Retail sales grew strongly during the first half of April, according to the latest Confederation of British Industry's (CBI's) Distributive Trades Survey.

Businesses including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) demonstrated year-on-year increases to achieve a three-year high, the figures reveal.

Respondents showed optimism for the future, with a net +36 per cent saying they thought their sales volumes would keep on rising in the future.

Additionally, 64 per cent indicated that their sales had improved over the past year, while 20 per cent admitted a downturn from April 2006.

These are some of the strongest percentages since mid-2004, the report states.

John Longworth, executive director of Asda and chairman of the CBI's Distributive Trades Survey Panel, commented:

"Sales grew strongly over the first two weeks of April, surpassing expectations and ensuring another very pleasing month for the high street.

"Looking ahead, retailers expect demand to remain strong as we head into the summer and the recent trend of healthy sales growth looks set to continue."

The CBI is a lobbying organisation for UK businesses.