nickshanagher

Food and drink sales during June were very strong, increasing optimism among retailers. But the longer term picture remains uncertain. On Tuesday this week the CBI said that more than half of retailers taking part in its high street survey said that sales were up during June, providing the most positive figures since June 2007. The CBI's sample includes 20,000 outlets owned by 131 companies and it works by adding up those retailers reporting an increase and taking away those who say sales have fallen.  In June the figure was plus 33 per cent (51 per cent take away 18 per cent), which was much better than the plus 11 per cent figure that retailers had been forecasting. Looking forward, the forecast for August is plus 45 per cent, which if achieved will be the best result since June 2004. "Retailers are optimistic that strong sales growth will continue next month, which is promising," said Lai Wah Co, the CBI's economist. "We still expect the recovery in ...