LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - British annual retail sales growth slowed in July, despite a big rise in clothing purchases, and is expected to weaken further next month, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed on Wednesday.
The CBI distributive trades survey's retail sales balance fell for a second successive month after hitting a five-month high in May, dropping to +21 in July from +29 in June, bucking economists' forecasts for a modest rise to +30.
The outlook for sales in August was even gloomier, with the index dropping to a two-year low of +13 from +33.
"Despite the upbeat outlook for the UK economy, retailers are still finding conditions challenging and it's certainly something every shopkeeper will need to keep an eye on," said Barry Williams, a senior executive at supermarket Asda (N:WMT) and chairman of the CBI panel.
The CBI said clothing sales rose at the fastest annual rate since January, but food sales were flat and shoe sales fell.
