Retail sales in the U.S. continued to decline in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.7 percent in December after tumbling by a revised 1.4 percent in November. <\/p>\n
Economists had expected retail sales to come in unchanged compared to the 1.1 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
“The further slump in retail sales in December confirms that the continued surge in coronavirus<\/span> infections is now weighing heavily on the economy<\/span>,” said Andrew Hunter, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics. <\/p>\n He added, “Despite the building optimism over fiscal stimulus, the next few months are still likely to be difficult.”<\/p>\n The continued decrease in retail sales reflected steep drops in sales by non-store retailers, electronics and appliance stores, food service and drinking places and department stores.<\/p>\n On the other hand, sales by gas stations spiked by 6.6 percent amid an increase in prices, while sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers jumped by 1.9 percent.<\/p>\n Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales plunged by 1.4 percent in December after slumping by 1.3 percent in November.<\/p>\n Ex-auto sales were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.9 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, also plummeted by 1.9 percent in December after tumbling by 1.1 percent in November. <\/p>\n