Supermarket giant Tesco said that trading remained strong, despite a slowdown in its rate of like-for-like sales growth over the past 14 weeks.

The retailer said sales excluding petrol were 5.5 per cent higher than a year earlier in the quarter to November 19, down from the figure of 6.7 per cent reported for the previous six months, and slightly lower than some City forecasts.

Group-wide sales rose by 13.9 per cent and reflected continued gains across all parts of its business, including the international arm after a 23per cent jump in sales.