HIGH street retailers gearing up for Christmas saw a confidence-boosting rise in sales growth in November, new figures have shown.

The CBI's survey of the retail sector revealed that sales volumes rallied last month after a slowdown in October.

It showed 50 per cent of retailers reported sales during the month that were higher than a year ago, while 21 per cent said they were down.

The difference of 29 per cent compares with 19 per cent in October, the weakest growth this year.

The CBI said sales in November were "significantly above" the seasonal average despite fears of widening economic gloom.

The outlook was still uncertain with the three-month underlying trend falling back to its lowest level since June. November's figure was also far behind September's healthy balance of 54 per cent.

The figures come a day after the British Retail Consortium said shoppers were shaking off fears of an economic slowdown.

The trade body said on Monday that growth in retail sales value in November was 5.8 per cent, stable but slightly weaker than October on a like-for-like basis.

Alastair Eperon, chairman of the CBI's Distributive Trades Survey panel and a director at Boots, said retailers' confidence was holding up.

He said: "Stores are now hopeful that consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas will protect the retail sector from the severe slowdown already hitting the rest of the economy."

The strongest sales increases last month were recorded by retailers selling household electrical goods, booksellers and footwear and leather stores.

Smaller but significant increases were recorded by chemists, DIY and food shops with clothing stores only seeing modest growth.

The CBI said retailers' optimism remained positive, but it had weakened since August.

Its survey showed 31 per cent of firms expect the business situation to improve over the next six months, while 13 per cent expect it to deteriorate.