UK retail sales rose less than expected in the run-up to Christmas, according to official data Friday that deals a fresh blow to government hopes of growing the聽economy.聽
Separate figures revealed a temporary reprieve for prime minister Keir Starmer, however, as public borrowing fell sharply in November.
The updates follow news this week of higher inflation in Britain 鈥� an outcome that caused the Bank of England on Thursday to leave interest rates unchanged.
Retail sales by volume grew 0.2 per cent in November after a drop of 0.7 per cent in October, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
That was less than analysts鈥� consensus for a 0.5-per cent gain.
鈥業t is critical聽delayed spending materialises聽this Christmas聽to mitigate聽the poor start to聽retail鈥檚 all-important聽festive season,鈥� noted Nicholas Found, senior consultant at Retail Economics