Fall in November retail sales should not be a surprise

It may be busy at the shops just a week before Christmas, but retail figures for November show a fall rather than the expected rise.

Retail sales were down 0.3 per cent in November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The fall followed a 0.6 per cent rise in October.

The ONS said the fall was the result of a sharp fall in sales at non-specialist retailers, which would include department stores.

Economists may be surprised at these figures, but they were announced a few days after a rise in inflation to 1.9 per cent was announced.

Let’s face it, with fuel prices rising again, consumers are finding it tough out there. Figures for December will be interesting, but all the talk about huge public debt, rises in taxes, National Insurance, and the lack of certainty about jobs and wages will, I feel, result in guarded spending this Christmas.

This country’s not out of the recession yet.