UPDATE: UK CBI: Retail Sales Remain Weak In June

UPDATE: UK CBI: Retail Sales Remain Weak In June (Adds detail, economist comment.) LONDON (Dow Jones)--The volume of sales at U.K. retailers remained weak in June, fueled by sharp drops in household goods sales and clothing, the Confederation of British Industry said Wednesday. The CBI's Distributive Trades Survey reported the retail sales balance was unchanged at -17 in June from May. The balance is the difference between the percentage of retailers reporting higher sales and those reporting lower sales. The survey was a touch weaker than expected. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were forecasting a balance of -16. "The June CBI distributive trades survey was in line with expectations, indicating that consumers are modestly more prepared to spend compared to earlier this year, but are still pretty reluctant to splash out," said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight. A breakdown of the survey showed sales of groceries and furniture continued to increase in June. However, there were more marked falls in sales of goods related to the weak housing market, while chemist and clothing sales also declined. "June's weak sales figures show that business on the high street isn't getting any easier," said Andy Clarke, chairman of the CBI's distributive trade panel. "It is too early to foresee a sustained pickup in retailers' fortunes over the coming months," he said. The CBI figures chimed with official May data published Thursday, which showed retail sales volume fell a larger-than-expected 0.6% on the month and 1.6% on the year, driven by poor sales of clothing, footwear and department store sales. Looking ahead, the CBI survey of 146 firms between May 28 and June 10 showed a balance of -21 of retailers expecting higher sales in July. The U.K. slipped into recession in the middle of last year as a result of the global credit crisis. It posted its biggest quarterly contraction of gross domestic product for 30 years between January and March this year, although economists say that is likely to be the most severe phase of the downturn. -By Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; 0207-842-9291; joe.parkinson@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=iroWVn2ql0zCzhe22hBLeg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones NewswiresJune 24, 2009 06:57 ET (10:57 GMT)Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.