SCOTTISH retail sales volumes fell by 0.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, official figures have shown.

The fall north of the Border, unveiled in figures published yesterday by the Scottish Government, contrasts with a 0.3 per cent increase in retail sales volumes in Great Britain as a whole in the third quarter.

Comparing the third quarter with the same period of last year, Scottish retail sales volumes were flat. In Great Britain as a whole, retail sales volumes in the three months to September were up by 2.9 per cent on the third quarter of 2013.

Figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium have consistently signalled weaker year-on-year movements in sales value north of the Border than in the UK as a whole in recent times.

The value of Scottish retail sales fell in September at the sharpest year-on-year pace since records began in 1999, excluding distortions related to the timing of Easter, according to the SRC. Scottish retail sales value was, in September, down by 2.9 per cent on the same month of last year, the SRC's most recent survey showed.

SRC director David Lonsdale has recently cited stronger economic growth and a sharper rise in house prices in other parts of the UK, notably London and south-east England, as possible reasons for the weaker retail sales performance in Scotland.

Commenting yesterday on the Scottish Government's figures, Mr Lonsdale said: "The dip in retail sales in the third quarter, and flat performance over the year as a whole, is disappointing, and mirrors the findings of our own Scottish monitor."

Separately, a survey published yesterday by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply showed that growth of the UK services sector slowed in October to its weakest pace in 17 months.

This survey adds to evidence that the UK's unbalanced economic recovery is cooling.

A survey published by CIPS on Tuesday showed growth of UK housebuilding activity eased in October to its slowest pace in 12 months, although it was still sharp. This survey also signalled the weakest pace of overall UK construction sector growth since May.

And CIPS reported on Monday that UK manufacturers' new export orders had fallen in October at the fastest pace since January 2013, amid weakness in eurozone market-places.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at CIPS survey compiler Markit, said: "Slower service sector growth knocks the prospect of interest rate hikes firmly on the head, adding to an increasingly downbeat flow of economic data in recent weeks which has thrown a cloud of uncertainty over the outlook."

He added: "A sharp easing of service sector growth to the weakest since May of last year comes on the heels of data showing construction growth sliding to a five-month low and the goods-producing sector shifting down a gear since earlier in the year."