UK Retail Sales Decline At Sharper Pace: CBI

(RTTNews) - UK retailers reported a sharp decline in sales volumes in September due to weak consumer sentiment and they scaled back orders at the fastest rate on record, the Distributive Trades Survey data from the Confederation of British Industry showed Thursday.

The retail sales balance fell unexpectedly to -55 percent in September from -48 percent in August. The balance was expected to improve to -42 percent. A net 37 percent of retailers forecast sales to decline next month.

About 40 percent of retailers judged sales to be "poor" in September compared to -26 percent last month.

The balance of online retail sales volumes plunged to -68 percent from -43 percent in the previous month. A net 68 percent expects online sales volumes to fall next month . "Retailers reported a steep fall in annual sales volumes in September, with some firms attributing the deterioration to poor consumer sentiment," CBI Lead Economist Martin Sartorius said.