Investing.com - U.K. retail sale volumes fell to the lowest level in seven months on June, dampening optimism over the health of the country’s economy, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said the result of its index of U.K. retailers dropped by 12.0 points to a reading of 4.0 this month from 16.0 in May. Analysts had expected the index to increase by 8.0 point to 24.0 in June.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates higher sales volume, below indicates lower.
The survey of 133 firms showed that although sales growth in June disappointed retailers’ expectations, sales rose above average for the time of year.
Barry Williams, Chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel said, “After a recent improved run for the High Street, a fall in clothing and food sales has contributed to a disappointing month.”
Following the release of that data, the pound held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.1% to trade at 1.6969.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.75%, the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.8%, while Germany's DAX shed 0.45%.