Retail sales in stores in the UK increased to their highest in three years in the first two weeks of August, show new figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
According to the CBI Monthly Distributive Trades Survey released on Thursday, factors like summer discount sales and the holiday period increased the demand for retail goods. The organisation's retail sales balance -- the difference between the percentage of retailers reporting higher sales volumes and those reporting lower sales -- rose to +35 in August from +33 in July, the highest noted since April 2007.
But the escalation of prices counters the positive figures. Prices in the first fortnight of August were higher than in the same period in 2009, according to two-thirds of 133 stores who took part in the survey.
The gauge of expected price rises during September has reached 66 from an earlier expected figure of 50.
The gap is expected to be wider in the coming months, with nearly 75 per cent of stores predicting a price rise against 4 per cent who believe otherwise.
