The general election was the main reason behind such a slow Christmas trading period — that is according to the Chamber of Commerce.

The chairman of the retail division of the Chamber said that the findings of the Retail Sales Index, which revealed that the sales performance for December was at its lowest growth level since 2001, were "no big surprise" and the election played a major in the results.

The report concluded that consumers pent an estimated $111 million in stores in December last year, representing a fractional $800,000 (0.7 percent) gain above the December 2006 level.

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