British December retail sales rise 0.1%

British retail sales grew by 0.1 percent in December from November and by 4.4 per cent on a 12-month basis, official figures showed today.

Analysts had expected that high-street activity would grow in December by 0.5 per cent on a monthly basis and by 4.5 per cent on a 12-month basis.

For the three months to December, retail sales volume rose by 1.3 per cent from the previous month, the British Office of National Statistics said.

"In the wider context, December's year-on-year growth in total retail sales value was strong, given the additional spending in December 1999 on the millennium celebrations," the ONS said.

AFP