UK retailers have had their worst month for nearly a quarter of a century according to a CBI Distributive Trades Survey.

 

60 per cent of retailers reported that during the first part of August sales were lower than the same month last year, with only 13 per cent registering an increase.

 

Results from the survey point in the opposite direction to the Office of National Statistics' retail sales data, which showed that retail sales in the UK rose by 0.8% in July.