Wet weather dampens retail sales in Great Britain

Shoppers shun high street as quantity of goods bought falls 1.2% month on month in July

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Wet weather has been blamed for a worse-than-expected fall in retail sales last month, with households in Great Britain shunning the high street and pulling back on clothes purchases.

Officials figures showed that the quantity of goods bought fell 1.2% month on month in July, worse than average analyst forecasts of a 0.5% drop in sales volumes. It follows a 0.6% rise in June.