UK economy returns to growth amid Black Friday spending lift

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The UK economy returned to growth in November after a recovery in consumer spending driven by Black Friday sales, with shoppers hunting for bargains as the key Christmas shopping season got under way.

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12 Jan 2024

Gross domestic product rose by 0.3% on the month, after a decline of 0.3% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). City economists had forecast more modest growth of 0.2%.

Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, said the bounceback was fuelled by the country’s dominant services sector, with retail, car leasing and video games companies all having a buoyant month.

“The longer-term picture remains one of an economy that has shown little growth over the last year,” he said.

Figures this week showed that some of Britain’s largest retailers recorded a bumper Christmas shopping season, helped by growth in online orders and high demand for festive food and drink, despite subdued demand for costlier items such as furniture and electrical goods.

The ONS said services output grew by 0.3% in November, reversing a fall in October