Retail sales in the capital have seen an 8.7% rise for June 2008 compared to same month last year.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that spending was up in central London for the 12 month period despite the national figure seeing a drop of 0.4% over the year.

BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: "The mood among central London customers is clearly different from the rest of the UK."

He feels that consumers have been taking advantage of extensive discounting from London retailers, while rising petrol prices mean people are avoiding out of town shopping trips.

The fall of the pound against the Euro also means that London is now much cheaper for European visitors.

Although spending has picked up in the capital, BRC's figures also showed that the homewares market remains tough with high end products such as furniture struggling.