British retail sales bounced back weakly in December as shops in England emerged from November's four-week lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, while public borrowing this financial year hit a fresh record high.
Retail sales volumes rose 0.3% in December versus economist expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2% increase, leaving them 2.9% higher than a year earlier, official figures showed on Friday.
Public sector borrowing for December came in at £34.1 billion, slightly above economists' forecasts of £32.1 billion, taking borrowing since the start of the financial year in April to £270.8 billion.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
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