High street trading is still tough, according to latest figures from a CBI survey.
The CBI found that 29 per cent of retailers reported sales volumes up on the year, while 47 per cent said they were down.
Despite this, however, grocery retail sales remained strong, the survey showed, although not at the same pace as last year.
The news has prompted CBI head Sir Digby Jones to call on the Bank of England to cut interest rates this week to help drive growth.
On the plus side, retailers said there was little effect on sales from the bomb attacks in London on 7 July.
The CBI survey of retailers' sales gave a balance of -18, following on from a balance of -19 in June, the lowest since the survey began in 1983.
Retailers have not seen an increase in annual sales since the end of 2004, reflecting continuing anxiety over the state of the housing market, interest rates and tax rises, the survey reported.
