Overview

• CBI’s retail sales balance registered -32 in August, marking an eleventh consecutive annual decline, with firms expecting a less negative -16 in September.
• Average selling prices rose to +65, the fastest pace since November 2023, despite weak demand pressuring volumes.
• Services companies reported another drop in confidence and activity in August, extending roughly a year of pessimism and squeezing profits.
• Firms said higher labour costs and soft sales are forcing cuts to hiring and investment, with training budgets also under strain.
• Business groups pressed the government to avoid further tax rises and to rethink new worker-rights measures, as the Bank of England remains cautious about sticky services inflation and a weakening labour market.