"The 0.6% increase in retail sales volumes in December boosts hopes that the economy avoided contraction in the fourth quarter of 2011"
- Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight
U.K. retail sales rose in December as retailers offered Christmas discounts to lure shoppers. The volume of retail sales increased 0.6 per cent from November and 2.6 per cent, compared to the same period last year, said the Office for National Statistics on Friday.
"The 0.6% increase in retail sales volumes in December boosts hopes that the economy avoided contraction in the fourth quarter of 2011," said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.
"The continued intense squeeze on households' real incomes, despite falling inflation, suggests that consumers won't be able to increase their retail spending at this rate for much longer. So 2012 still looks set to be a tough year for retailers," said Samuel Tombs, U.K. economist at Capital Economics.
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