Sales in US retail were weaker at the beginning of the year.
They fell by 0.2 percent month-on-month in January, as the Commerce Department announced on Friday in Washington. Economists had, on average, expected a somewhat steeper decline in sales of 0.3 percent in retail, which is of great importance to the US economy.
Revenues had stagnated in the previous month. Excluding volatile vehicle sales, January retail revenues were flat, as expected.
