Bumper Black Friday sales

LONDON: British shoppers pounced on electrical goods and other Black Friday bargains last month, giving an unexpectedly big boost to retail sales, which contrasted with earlier signs of a subdued start to Christmas spending.

Consumers have been squeezed through most of this year by rising inflation which hit its highest in nearly six years last month, at a time when wages are failing to keep up. But there was some unexpected cheer for retailers in November data from the Office for National Statistics, which showed sales volumes were 1.6 percent higher than a year ago, beating all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

Spending in cash terms was 4.7 percent higher. The market reaction was muted and some economists said the surge in retail sales might reflect Christmas spending being brought forward to take advantage of Black Friday discounts. "The boost from Black Friday will be fleeting," Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said.