UK retailers report average sales in May, gloomy outlook

Sales for the time of year were in line with normal after weakness in April, but are expected to dip again in May.

LONDON:British retailers reported a normal level of sales for the time of year, defying economists' expectations for renewed weakness, but were the most downbeat about the outlook since November 2020, the Confederation of British Industry said on Tuesday.

The CBI's monthly retail sales balance rebounded to -1 in May from -35 in April, far above economists' forecast in a Reuters poll for it to rise slightly to -30.