Retail sales fall for second month in April

LONDON (Reuters) - Retail sales values fell for a second consecutive month in April, a survey showed on Tuesday, suggesting tighter credit conditions and rising household bills are forcing consumers to tighten their belts.

The British Retail Consortium said the value of like-for-like retail sales fell by an annual 1.5 percent last month. That followed a 1.6 percent fall in March and was the first time sales have fallen in consecutive months since 2005.

Total sales, which include new floor-space, rose by 1.0 percent, the weakest annual rise in three years.

"This is the first time in three years we've had two months in a row of year-on-year falls in like-for-like sales, further evidence that hard-pressed customers are really watching the pounds," said Stephen Robertson, BRC director general.

"With higher fuel and utility bills eating away at people's spare cash, they are concentrating on essentials like food."

Although the timing of Easter can make sales comparisons difficult at this time of year, there was little to disguise the bleak picture.

The value of clothing and footwear sales fell to record its weakest performance for at least eight years despite continued heavy discounting and promotions.

Furniture sales were hard hit by the slowing housing market and sales of big-ticket electrical items fell sharply as consumers refrained from non-essential spending.

The only sectors to record a rising sales were food, homewares and toiletries.

(Reporting by Christina Fincher; Editing by Ron Askew)