Clothing and footwear showed some uplift in the final week, but were still difficult. Food sales improved, helped by Valentine's Day, after a flat January.

However with consumer confidence still weak, shoppers remain wary of committing to larger housing-related purchases.

BRC director general Kevin Hawkins said: "These results underline yet again the continuing squeeze on consumer spending and, contrary to the Bank of England's expectations, there is no sign of an upturn."

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG added: "The like-for-like figure of 0.6 per cent represents the fourth consecutive month of like-for-like growth, a trend not seen since October 2004. However, it comes on the back of weak figures in February 2005 and hence is no cause for celebration. It is also worth bearing in mind that retailers face a cost base that is rising faster than the sales line. Therefore, if retailers are continuing to struggle, this should send out an even starker warning for the health of their suppliers who will find the going even tougher as retailers inevitably look to make further cuts to their supplier cost base."

Looking at individual market sectors, Joscelyne Hynard, senior analyst in the BRC's business information team, said food and drink sales picked up after a flat January, but did not reach late-2005 levels. And clothing sales showed very little growth. Footwear sales remained well below year-earlier levels. Electricals - especially white goods - suffered another difficult month, with any growth largely driven by new technology. Equally, DIY and gardening sales were difficult, with a return to tough trading conditions after the post-Christmas discounts and promotions ended.

On the brighter side homewares showed some growth, especially in essentials such as cookware rather than fine dining. However in furniture and carpets, sales dropped back after the end of the January discounts.

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