UK retail sales stall amid fears of triple-dip inflation

Hopes of the economy being on the road to recovery had been dampened by figures showing retail sales stalled last month with growth in Britain's services sector almost down to a standstill.

The British Retail Consortium said Britons shied away from spending on big-ticket and luxury items in October, which led to the weakest sales growth in almost a year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Meanwhile, expansion in the UK's services sector accounting for three-quarters of UK GDP dropped to a crawl as new business failed to make up for projects completed during the month.

George Osborne, seizing on news last month that the economy had emerged from double-dip recession, with growth of 1 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 said it was evidence that his policies had put Britain "on the right track".

However, early signs for the fourth quarter now suggested that the economy could shrink again, raising the prospect of a triple-dip recession.

According to the BRC, like-for-like sales were down 0.1 per cent last month, as against October last year, which was a crushing blow after September's figures, showing growth of 1.5 per cent.