Bad July for U.K. Retailers

London, U.K. retailers have their poorest July in 10 years as confidence was hit by a series of terrorist attacks in London and stagnating house prices that curbed consumer spending, the British Retail Consortium said. Same-store sales fell for the fourth successive month, sliding 1.9% from July last year. The drop followed a 0.5% decline in June.

On July 7, London was rocked by four explosion. A series of failed bomb attacks occurred two weeks later. Given events, experts say, the decline in sales during July could have been much worse.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee last week pared its benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years to 4.5%, saying there are “downside risks” to consumer spending. House-price growth slowed to a 10-year low in England and Wales during May, June and July.