But the pick-up in February itself may ease some of the fears that the surge in household spending was coming to an end.

Prices have started to rise more quickly than wages, however, so the risk of a slowdown still exists.

Rising prices are particularly clear on the petrol forecourt. Drivers bought exactly the same amount of fuel in February 2017 as they did a year earlier, but the amount they spent rose by 1.7 per cent as the higher price of crude oil pushed up the cost of a tank of petrol.

In terms of other spending, households bought slightly more food – by quantity, sales rose 0.6pc on the year with shoppers spending £2.9bn per week. Inflation is creeping back into the groceries market, after two and a half years of price declines caused in part by a fiercely competitive war between the supermarkets.

Clothing sales rose 4.5 per cent, hitting £0.7bn per week.

At the same time the Confederation of British Industry’s survey of retailers showed sales rising at a steady pace in March.