- Natalie Berg from Planet Retail
Britain's retail sales surged above estimates on month in November, while year-on-year sales rose at the fastest pace in 10 years as US-style Black Friday bolstered sales of electrical appliances and household goods. Volumes sold by UK retailers soared at an annual 6.4% pace, according to the Office for National Statistics, the biggest increase since May 2004, marking 20 straight months of growth. Compared with October, sales rose 1.6% in November. Economists had forecasted retail sales to edge up 0.3% on month following a similar increase in November, and for sales to be 4.4% higher on year. US-style discounts for Black Friday took off in Britain this year, with stores experiencing record sales. Electrical goods sales skyrocketed 32% from the previous year, while sales at department stores rose 15%, both of which were the biggest rise since records began in 1988. The value of sales made online jumped 12.9% compared with a year earlier. Consumer spending was also supported by plunging oil prices and weak inflation. Official data earlier in the week showed that annual consumer price inflation slid to the lowest level in 12 years of 1% in November, while annual wage growth in October picked up to 1.8% from 1.5% in September. The Bank of England continues to expect consumer spending to be a growth engine, after fuelling what looks set this year to be the fastest growth pace in overall economic output in more than a decade.
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