UK retail sales comes to a halt in October, CBI

UK retail sales comes to a halt in October, CBIThe Confederation of British Industry said yesterday that the retia sales in the UK came to halt during the month of October as supermarkets recorded its largest fall in fall in supermarket sales since the beginning of the year.

The CBI distributive trades survey's retail sales balance fell to plus two compared to a high of 34 reached during the month of September. The economists were expecting a rating of 33 during the month in the UK. The CBI has said that the sales are expected to rise in the coming month and the retailers have increased their orders with the suppliers.

The total retail sales volume grew 2.2 per cent during the month of September compared to the same period of the previous year, according to the official data released. Experts have said that the low level of growth would be raise some concerns in the retail sector ahead of the crucial holiday season. The authorities in the UK are looking to boost business and consumer spending and the central bank has assured that the interest rates would remain low until clear sings of economy recovery are noted. However, the growth still remains below inflation and this has raised concerns in the industry.

Barry Williams, who chairs the CBI survey panel and is a senior executive at Asda, said, "Although the high street recovery stalled this month, there is optimism that it was just a blip."