Official figures released this morning show an unexpected fall in British retail sales in December.
The Office for National Statistics said sales fell 1% compared with November, the sharpest drop for a December since 1981. Economists had expected a rise of 0.3%.
The drop brought the annual rate of growth to 3.2% from 5.9% in November.
The figures are not expected to have much impact on the outlook for interest rates, however, as Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said last night that it would be foolish to place too much weight on one month's figures, particularly at Christmas.
