UK retail sales volumes dropped at a faster-than-expected pace at the start of the year, and retailers expect them to decline again next month, but at a slightly slower rate, survey data from the Confederation of British Industry, or CBI, showed Thursday. The sales balance decreased to -23 from +11 in December, results of the Distributive Trades Survey of the CBI showed. Economists had expected a balance of -5. Around 15 percent of surveyed retailers are expected to report a drop in sales next month, the survey showed. “Retailers began the new year with a return to falling sales volumes, as the sector continues to face the twin headwinds of rising costs and squeezed household incomes,” Martin Sartorius, principal economist at the CBI, said.
