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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| UK retail sales flat in November | UK retail sales flat in November |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| UK retail sales failed to grow in November, adding to fears that consumers are reining in spending ahead of Christmas. | UK retail sales failed to grow in November, adding to fears that consumers are reining in spending ahead of Christmas. |
| Sales volumes were flat in November compared with October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. | Sales volumes were flat in November compared with October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. |
| They had been expected to bounce back after October's shock 0.8% fall. | They had been expected to bounce back after October's shock 0.8% fall. |
| The one bright spot was in household goods stores, where sales rose by 3.8% on the month, including consumer electrical items. | The one bright spot was in household goods stores, where sales rose by 3.8% on the month, including consumer electrical items. |
| However this failed to offset a 0.1% drop in both food sales and sales of clothes and shoes. | |
| Year-on-year, sales volumes rose by 0.9%. | |
| 'Last-minute rush' | |
| By value, sales fell 0.1% on the month but increased 1.5% on the year. | |
| Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of gross domestic product (GDP) in the UK. | |
| The ONS figures increase the chance that the UK economy will contract in the last three months of 2012, something the Bank of England has already said is likely. | |
| This year has seen a number of casualties on the High Street, the latest being electrical retailer Comet, whose last stores closed this week. | |
| British Retail Consortium director-general Helen Dickinson, said that the coming weekend would be crucial for retailers. | |
| "With Christmas falling on a Tuesday this year, this weekend will be the critical one - I'm expecting a last-minute rush but overall in sales terms it will be neither a bumper Christmas nor a disaster." |