MEXICO CITY: Mexican retail sales rose by 3.3% in November from October in seasonally-adjusted terms, the biggest monthly increase in four months, data from the national statistics agency (INEGI) showed on Tuesday.

The figures compared with the consensus forecast of a Reuters poll for a rise of 1.2%, and represented the sharpest increase since July, data from INEGI showed.

Shopping in November benefited from an extended period of pre-Christmas promotions, which was aimed at reducing overcrowding in stores during the coronavirus pandemic.

A week before Christmas, authorities in Mexico City and the neighboring State of Mexico suspended non-essential business activities due a surge in coronavirus cases, measures that are likely to have impacted sales in December.

In unadjusted terms, retail sales fell by 5.1% in November compared with the same month a year earlier, the data showed.