British retail sales rose more than expected in November as internet shopping surged at its fastest rate in more than a year.
Sales rose 0.4 per cent last month, the Office for National Statistics said today, twice the rate predicted by analysts, putting them up 4.4 per cent on the year.
The rise was driven entirely by food stores and the non-store retailing and repair category, which includes specialised internet retailers.
The latter rose by 5.9 per cent on the month - the biggest jump since August 2006.
Prices on average, for the whole retail sector, were 1.3 per cent lower than a year earlier, indicating that retailers are being forced to discount their wares to move stock.
The Bank of England cut interest rates earlier this month to shore up demand and is widely expected to do so again in the next few months.