MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Spending from British consumers cooled last month as they waited to see how Black Friday deals and the government’s budget later this month, widely expected to contain tax hikes, would pan out, surveys showed on Tuesday.

Barclays said spending on its credit and debit cards fell by 0.8% in the year to October as expenditure on essentials contracted sharply. The company sees almost 40% of Britain’s card transactions.

A separate survey from the British Retail Consortium trade body showed sales at store chains rose by 1.6% in annual terms last month – the weakest growth since May.

Overall the readings chimed other signs of a fairly subdued economy ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget on November 26, although some business surveys and official retail

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