The Standard recorded circulation of 291,991, up 7.17% on the same period in 2006, despite competition from its Associated Newspapers stablemate London Lite and News International rival thelondonpaper.

Free newspapers continued to prop up newsprint demand, particularly the national morning freesheet Metro, which has an average daily circulation of 1,358,270.

Across the paid nationals, those papers that had gained a leg up from their switch to smaller formats fell back into decline. The only daily papers to record a year-on-year rise were The Sun, Daily Mail, and Financial Times.

The red-top market, the largest newspaper sector by volume with a combined total circulation of 5,744,338, fell 0.96% compared with November 2006, according to the latest report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The Sun, published by News International, rose 0.18% year-on-year to an average daily circulation of 3,078,388. Its archrival, the Trinity Mirror-owned Daily Mirror, fell 1.98% to 1,518,881. Daily Record and Daily Star also recorded falls to 393,593 and 753,476, respectively.

The mid-market rose slightly to a total of 3,094,381, off the back of a 1.41% year-on-year rise for Associated's Daily Mail to 2,327,507. Meanwhile, Northern & Shell's Daily Express fell 1.01% to 766,874.

In the quality sector, there was an overall drop of 2.81% to 2,677,460. The only rise was Financial Times with a 2.75% gain year-on-year to 444,880.

While The Independent and The Times initially gained a circulation boost from their switch to tabloid format, these gains are now evaporating. The Independent fell 8.01% year-on-year to 233,423, while The Times fell 2.57% to 636,946.

Similarly, The Guardian, which adopted a midsize Berliner format in 2005, lost its early gains, dropping 6.7% last month to 356,789. However, Daily Telegraph, which has remained a broadsheet, also fell 2.04% to 882,873.

The Scottish market was gloomy, with The Herald in Glasgow falling 4.15% to 68,611, and The Scotsman falling 8.76% to 53,938.