Figures from the government's commerce department showed a 0.4% lift in sales last month, fuelled by high spending in home furnishing, building material and gardening equipment.

The retail sales showed there was a little more resilience on the part of consumers than we had feared Anthony Karydakis, One Capital Markets

The figures beat analysts' expectations of a 0.3% rise in sales, but failed to generate any excitement on Wall Street.

Sales are still lagging behind levels enjoyed earlier in the year and US jobless figures, also released on Thursday, showed a steep rise.

'Nest-building'

US consumers are the life-blood of the US economy, making up more than two-thirds of economic activity.

The 0.4% lift in November sales was higher than the 0.3% analysts had predicted and, if auto sales are excluded, the increase was 0.5%.

"The retail sales showed there was a little more resilience on the part of consumers than we had feared," said Anthony Karydakis, a financial economist at one Capital Markets.

It's still a relatively weak pace of spending compared to the third quarter Anthony Karydakis, One Capital Markets

However, the figures were driven by a 2.3% increase in furniture sales - the biggest jump in this area for almost two years - and a 1.2% increase in the sale of building and garden materials.

Other figures showed weakness, with spending in department stores down 1.2% and auto sales falling for the third consecutive month, albeit just 0.1%.

Gloom not over

Despite the better-than-expected sales figures, analysts said the economy was far from booming.

"It's still a relatively weak pace of spending compared to the third quarter, " said Mr Karydakis.

In the three months to September, retail sales rose 4% on the previous year but are expected to show much weaker growth in the current three-month period.

Low interest rates have managed to buoy housing and spending figures, but the manufacturing and employment markets are both struggling.

Figures from the US Labor Department on Thursday showed an unexpected rise of 83,000 claims in the week to 7 December.

The increase came after three weeks of falls.

Meanwhile, manufacturing figures from the Institute for Supply Management have shown a shrinking of the sector for the last three months and have suggested no signs of improvement.