British high street sales grew less than expected in March but sales are forecast to rebound strongly next month, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday.
About 36 percent of survey respondents reported that sales volumes were up on a year ago, while 23 percent said they were down, giving a balance of +13 percent, according to Distributive Trades Survey from Confederation of British Industry. The sales balance was seen at 28 percent.
For April, the sales balance is expected to rise to 36 percent, the highest expected growth since December 2010.
"It's promising to see a run of positive growth rates on the high street, with sales up on a year ago for the fourth month in a row," Barry Williams, chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel, said.
"We're hopeful that this will continue, but there are still signs that this needs to be a cautious hope," Williams added.
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