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UK retail sales show strongest rise since 2002

UK retail sales rose at their strongest yearly rate in more than a decade in October as shoppers bought winter clothes and supermarkets reported a successful Halloween.

Sales were 7.4% higher than the same month last year, the fastest year-on-year growth since April 2002, Office for National Statistics figures show.

Online sales were at their strongest for five years, proving consumers remained eager to shop despite uncertainty over the potential fallout from Brexit.

The amount spent in the retail industry was up by 2.1% compared with September, while the amount spent online increased by 26.8% compared with October last year and by 1.3% compared with September 2016.

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