RETAIL sales climbed at their strongest pace for 11 months in November as the high street was boosted by the Black Friday surge, official figures have revealed.
Sales grew by 1.6 per cent month-on-month as retailers stepped up their pre-Christmas offers, the biggest increase since a 2.7 per cent boom in December last year.
There was growth in all types of stores for the first time since last December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Year-on-year growth of 6.4 per cent was the best since May 2004, although last year's November figures did not include Black Friday trading.
Customers were attracted by average store prices, which were down two per cent compared with the same month last year, the largest fall since August 2002.
This was mainly driven by petrol stations, although prices in food stores showed their largest decrease since June 2002, down by one per cent.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at business survey organisation Markit, said: "Questions will be asked whether Black Friday discounts merely mean spending has been brought forward ahead of the usual Christmas spree, but at the moment it certainly looks like retail sales are on a firm upward trend.
"The outlook for consumer spending is certainly one of the best we've seen since the recession."
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