Food and drink performed strongest
UK July retail sales rose 3.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis, but were up against weak trading last year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Retail Sales Monitor.

Total sales were up 6.1 per cent for the month, however this compares with sales dropping 1.9 per cent in July last year, following the London bombings.

This July, the three-month rate of growth fell to 3.1 per cent, compared with 4.1 per cent in June.

Food and drink sales showed their strongest growth since last summer, lifted by the hot weather and World Cup.

Trade declined further for furniture and floor covering retailers. Most lines, with the exception of garden furniture, performed badly.

In clothing, childrenswear remained weak, but womenswear was particularly strong and menswear picked up after a poor June. Footwear remained down on last year.

DIY had mixed results, with outdoor ranges not quite offsetting the weak performance of indoor ranges.

There was little overall change in underlying electricals sales. Sales of large and small flatscreen televisions remained popular, despite a slight slow down after the World Cup. Sat-nav equipment also sold well, while strong sales of digital cameras were undermined by price deflation.

BRC director general Kevin Hawkins said: 'A lot of this growth, against a weak comparative a year ago, was driven by the food sector, helped by the weather and heavy discounting across many product categories. Most other sectors struggled or had mixed fortunes.

'Talk of a general upturn in consumer spending is wide of the mark - even more so since the MPC increased interest rates.'