Signet Q1 group like-for-like sales down 2.5 pct

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Signet Group Plc (SIG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's biggest speciality jewellery retailer, said on Thursday group like-for-like sales fell 2.5 percent in the first quarter.

In the United States, where Signet trades as Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, like-for-like sales fell by 4.7 percent. In Britain, where it trades as H.Samuel and Ernest Jones, sales rose by 5.3 percent.

When reporting a 16.8 percent fall in profit for the year to Feb. 2 last month, Signet said like-for-like sales at the start of its new financial year had fallen by around 4 percent in the United States but shown a mid single digit increase in Britain. In the fourth quarter, group like-for-like sales fell by 6.7 percent, including declines of 8.6 percent in the United States and 1.7 percent in Britain. (Reporting by Mike Elliott)