British retail sales fell in April at their sharpest pace in nearly 13 years, an industry survey showed today.
The Confederation of British Industry's monthly distributive trades survey showed 32 per cent of retailers reported sales volumes up on the year, but 46 per cent said they were down, giving a balance of -14, the lowest since July 1992.
That followed a balance of -9 in March and compared with analysts' expectations of +2; survey respondents themselves last month had predicted a balance of +3.
"Tough trading conditions are continuing for most retailers," said CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty. "This ongoing decline in sales is likely to reflect the recent fall in real disposable incomes, higher fuel and utility bills, reduced activity in the housing market and higher mortgage rates than a year ago."
Retailers are not hopeful of a dramatic improvement this month. The expectations balance dropped to +1, its lowest since October. The CBI survey was conducted between March 30th and April 20th.
Sales for the time of year were also weak at -36 after a -37 reading for March. CBI said trading was poor in most sectors - particularly for chemists, furniture and carpets - and clothing sales fell for the first time since March 2004. Household durables shops, booksellers and grocers all marked sales growth in April.
The slump in sales comes after a raft of evidence suggesting British consumer spending is running out of steam after five interest rate rises since November 2003.
In recent weeks, home improvement retailer Kingfisher, clothing chain Next and general merchandise store Argos have blamed falling sales on waning UK shopper demand.