Shoppers ease Christmas fears

SIGNS that shoppers are trickling back to the High Street today soothed fears that retailers are heading for a dismal Christmas.

The CBI said a net 11% of retailers reported higher sales in October than a year ago, a swing back to growth from the minus 9% in the September survey.

But the business group said sales growth remained well down on the brisk pace of the summer and urged the Bank of England to leave interest rates on hold 'for the foreseeable future'.

The three-month-on-three-month balance, which irons out monthly fluctuations, was 1% in October compared with a peak of 41% in June.

John Longworth, chairman of the shopping survey's panel, said: 'Retailers will now be hoping for a boost in the run-up to Christmas, but there is a great deal of uncertainty about the economic cycle.'

The survey came as the British Retail Consortium said shop prices in October were 1.37% lower than a year ago thanks to mid-season sales of clothing and footwear and discounting on DVDs, videos and CDs. It was the weakest reading since the survey began in 1997.

Meanwhile, optimism surrounding the wider economy is ebbing, with the Institute of Directors reporting that a net 31% of firms are upbeat about their prospects compared with 40% three months ago.