UK retail sales stumble again in July, CBI says

By David Milliken

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailers suffered another bad month in July and expect further weakness in August as poor weather and generally weak trading conditions continued to hamper demand, the Confederation of British Industry said on Monday.

The CBI said its monthly retail sales balance sank to -43 in July from June's reading of -24, its lowest since April.

Retailers forecast the index would improve to -32 in August, but that was still the weakest outlook since February.

"July marked a disappointing month for the distribution sector, with retailers feeling the sting from a harsh mix of unfavourable weather conditions and ongoing market uncertainty," CBI principal economist Martin Sartorius said.

"While the downturn in sales volumes is set to continue next month, some firms expressed hope for an improvement in market conditions post-general election," he added.

Official retail sales data showed that sales volumes dropped by 1.2% in June from their level in May, hampered by unseasonably cool weather.

However, high inflation has also been a major factor eating into shoppers' purchasing power until recently, and overall sales volumes in June were still below where they were just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020.

The weakness in retail contrasts with a somewhat brighter picture in the rest of the economy. Wages are now rising faster than inflation and overall output increased by 0.4% between April and May, prompting economists to upgrade their growth forecasts for 2024.

The CBI survey was based on responses from 49 retail chains between June 27 and July 17.

(Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)