CBI survey shows UK's retail sector has taken big hit after Brexit vote

A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed on Wednesday that Britain's retail sector has taken a huge hit in the aftermath of the vote to leave the European Union. The CBI's overall reading came in at -14, against an expected score of 1, and compared to a previous score of 4.

The CBI's latest Distributive Trades Survey, which is an indicator of short-term trends in the UK retail and wholesale distribution sector, showed activity cooling massively in July. Sales volumes collapsed more quickly than at any point in the last four and a half years.

Details of the report showed that furniture and carpet retailers in particular tanked, with sales falling 90 percent from the CBI's last survey. Non-specialised goods and footwear/leather goods did well, up 52 percent and 44 percent respectively.

CBI Chief Economist Rain Newton-Smith urged caution in reading too much into the numbers, said "While conditions in the retail sector have weakened, we should be careful about reading too much too soon, as consumers were likely to err on the side of caution in the immediate period following a vote to leave the EU."

That said, the latest UK GDP data from the Office for National Statistics earlier on Wednesday showed economic growth accelerating in the run up to the referendum. While last Friday’s Markit's UK PMI data showed a collapse in sentiment.