UK retail sales reach 27-year high in December, driven by Black Friday

British retail sales reached a 27-year high in December, driven by Black Friday’s shopping frenzy, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said.

The CBI’s trade survey retail sales balance soared to +61 in December from November's +27, the highest reading since January 1988.

An easing of prices on food and fuel amid a slump in oil and supermarket rivalry has boosted the spending power of consumers in the retail sector this month.

The Black Friday sales, which ran from 28 November to 11 December, also gave sales a lift this month.

"The strongest sales growth for a quarter of a century is a big boost for retailers as they head towards the climax of the crucial pre-Christmas trading period," said Barry Williams, an executive at Wal-Mart's supermarket chain Asda who chairs the CBI survey.

"But shoppers may have caught the Christmas bug early and brought some of their spending forward. This has been a tough year for many retailers and parts of the sector are still struggling."

The report came as data on UK retail sales on Thursday showed a 6.9% year-on-year rise in November following a 4.9% gain a month earlier.

However, UK consumer sentiment fell to -4 in December from -2 the previous month, GfK revealed on Friday. Analysts had been anticipating a slight improvement to -1.