Retail sales slump deepens as summer gets off to gloomy start

UK retail sales fell at a sharper pace in June as weak consumer confidence and rising cost pressures continued to weigh on spending.
The CBI’s latest Distributive Trades Survey found that retail sales volumes dropped to a weighted balance of -54 in the year to June, down from -46 in May.
Sales were also judged to be below seasonal norms to the greatest extent in more than two years, with the balance falling to -40 from -35 last month.
Retailers expect the downturn to continue into July, al