US retail sales slide in December, missing forecasts
US retail sales showed a surprise slump in December, the biggest since 2009.
According to the US Commerce Department, headline retail sales fell 1.2% in December, one of the most important months of the year for retailers. The figure missed consensus forecasts for growth of between 0.1% and 0.2%, and was well below November’s 0.1% improvement.
Stripping out volatile elements such as food, energy and building materials, core retail sales dropped 1.7% against a 1% revised increase in November.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, called the data “unbelievable”.
“These numbers are astonishing, and impossible to square with the Redbook chain store sales survey, which reported surging sales in December and a record high in the week of Christmas, on the back of the plunge in gasoline prices."
“These data are so wild that we have to expect hefty upward revisions. But if they stand, they are very unlikely to be representative of the trend over the next few months. The consumer is no longer enjoying tax cuts or falling gas prices, but that’s no reason to expect a rollover.”
Thursday’s data was published four weeks later than scheduled because of the US government shutdown. January’s data was due to be published on Friday, but as yet no new date has been announced.