Tentative signs emerged today that retail sales in the UK steadied in August after the slump following the July terrorist bomb attacks in London. Official figures from the office of National Statistics revealed that retail sales in August were unchanged from the previous month, just below market expectations of a 0.1 pct increase. However, July sales were revised sharply lower as a result of new data. Instead of the initial estimate of a 0.3 pct decline, July sales is now reported to have slipped 0.6 pct from June. As a result, the annual comparison came in below market expectations. On a year-on-year basis, August sales were 0.8 pct up, below forecasts of a 1.1 pct rise. In July, the annual equivalent was revised down to 1.3 pct from 1.8 pct previously. A more detailed look at today's release shows that food sales fell by 1.2 pct from the previous month, reflecting lower sales by large supermarkets. In contrast, non-food store sales increased by 0.8 pct, with non-specialised stores, such as department stores, posting a 1.4 pct improvement. Overall, the statistics office said underlying retail sales are rising at a 9-month high. Retail sales in the three months to August rose by 0.8 pct from the previous three months. This was the highest such growth since November 2004. However, a spokesman for the statistics office said the three-monthly growth rate may well go down in September because the strong 1.2 pct monthly growth recorded in June will fall out of the equation.