British retail sales growth slowed slightly in February but the underlying trend remains very healthy despite a recent rise in interest rates, the Confederation of British Industry said on Tuesday. The CBI's monthly distributive trades survey showed 47 percent of respondents said sales in February were up on a year ago against 21 percent who said they were down. That gave a balance of 26 percent -- down from January's 20-month high of 38 percent and retailers' own expectations of plus 33 percent.
The three-month sales balance rose to 32 percent in February from plus 30 percent in the month before. That was the highest level since June 2002. Retailers expect a pick-up in sales in March with the expectations balance at plus 32 percent. "Consumer spending remains resilient in spite of only modest growth in real take-home pay and shoppers have yet to react to the two recent rises in interest rates," said Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic adviser. The survey showed retailers remained fairly optimistic that the overall business situation would improve over the next three months, although the quarterly balance measuring this fell to plus seven percent from plus 14 percent in November. The CBI said most retail sectors showed strong growth in February with clothing sales rising at their fastest rate in five months. Household goods also posted a strong increase. The survey was conducted between February 3 and 18.///