Retail sales suffered their worst December on record after a sharp fall in sales of food and fuel due to harsh weather and rising prices, official data showed last Friday. Sterling fell to a day low on the news, which followed weak private-sector survey data for the services sector and backed economists' forecasts of a slowdown in quarterly economic growth when fourth-quarter GDP data is released this week. The Office for National Statistics said that December retail sales were flat on the year after 1.0% volume growth in November, the weakest change since January 2010 and the worst annual performance for any December since records began in 1988. Economists had forecast a 0.9% rise on the year. Sales fell 0.8% on the month after a 0.4% rise in November, again weaker than economists' forecast of a 0.3% decline. Economists expect consumers to keep a lid on spending in 2011, as unemployment rises due to job losses from public spending cuts. High inflation and limited wage growth are also likely to focus spending on essentials.