Relief despite slower retail sales growth
NEW year sales have failed to get Britain’s tills ringing, with growth on the high street slowing to its weakest pace in more than a year.
Publishing its latest distributive trades survey, the CBI said 39 per cent of retailers saw yearonyear sales volumes rise in the first half of January, compared with 34 per cent who said they were down. The roundeddown balance of +4 per cent is the lowest since November 2006.
However, the result was better than analysts had been expecting, and firms told the CBI they were expecting to see a sales pick up next month.
Economists at Royal Bank of Scotland said the survey showed a "marginally more resilient start to 2008 for retailers than expected".
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said the figures showedcustomer spending was faltering but not collapsing. He added that the survey "reinforces the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates gradually rather than aggressively given current inflation risks."
Sales firmed up yearonyear in the footwear and leather, and furniture and carpets sectors, after decreasing in December’s survey.
But sales fell sharply in the durable goods sector, which includes big ticket items such as washing machines and TVs.
John Longworth, chairman of the CBI’s distributive trades panel, said: "Overall, retail sales were still better than expected this month and the high street does predict a slight improvement in February."
He confirmed that sales of groceries and essentials were still doing reasonably well.
The report showed that retailers were more optimistic about the future, with the expectations balance registering +10 per cent.
The full article contains 278 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Original source : Business.Scotsman.com
