British retail sales have suffered a sharp slowdown in growth last month, official data show, but statisticians are unsure whether this is a result of the September 11th attacks on the United States.
National Statistics said sales volumes grew just 0.2 per cent from August, down from an upwardly revised 0.7 per cent figure in August. That gave an annual rise of 5.9 per cent, down from 6.5 per cent in August.
The monthly number was well below economists' forecasts of 0.4 per cent growth and defied recent survey evidence which suggested sales were very strong last month. But part of the reason for the low monthly number was a sharp upward revision to the August numbers.
"The monthly figure was lower than the market was expecting despite strong survey evidence. But this was counterbalanced by the fact that August was revised up," said Mr Richard Iley, economist at ABN AMRO bank in London.
Financial markets showed little reaction to the data as they did not change the overall outlook, with most analysts expecting further interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
"Retail sales growth is still very strong in volume terms. It shows great resilience from the consumer," he added.
The three-monthly figures, which iron out monthly fluctuations, backed up his point. Sales were up 1.5 per cent from the previous three months and 6.2 per cent above year-earlier levels, the highest annual figure since 1988 when the British economy was booming.
The breakdown of the figures showed a sharp drop in sales by food stores but continued strong growth in sales of clothing and footwear.