British retail sales growth beat expectations this month by a comfortable margin, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed on Tuesday. The CBI distributive trades survey's retail sales balance rose to +49 in September - its highest since May. That was up from +24 in August and beat expectations for a +28 balance in a Reuters poll. Sales expectations for October were +51, its highest since June.
"Low inflation and the recovery in wage growth are helping to stimulate consumer demand, but the slowdown in the global economy and tight margins mean retailers won't get ahead of themselves as we head into autumn," Rain Newton-Smith, CBI director of economics, said.