British retail sales volumes grew solidly in July, rebounding from a disappointing performance a month earlier, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said Wednesday in a survey report.

Forty-six percent of respondents reported volumes rose in the three months to July, while 25 percent said they were down. The resulting balance of 21 percent is significantly higher than the previous month's figure of 4 percent and the market expectation of 17 percent, said CBI.

Retailers expect another robust growth of sales volumes next month, with 51 percent expecting them to rise and 15 percent to fall.

The volume of internet sales also grew strongly, broadly in line with expectations, but below the long-run average, said CBI.

Barry Williams, chair of the CBI distributive trades survey panel, said in a statement: "As the temperature began to rise, it seems so did sales volumes. Almost all sectors saw growth, with grocers and clothing stores telling us they performed particularly well as people bought barbecue supplies and summer outfits."

Paul Hollingsworth, assistant economist at Capital Economics, a London-based economic research company, said in a note: "July's CBI distributive trades survey provided an encouraging sign that retail sales got off to a strong start to the third quarter."

"What's more, the outlook remains bright for a continued robust recovery in retail spending over the second half of this year," he added.