U.S. retail sales did not grow as strongly as expected in December.
Revenues rose by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month, as the Commerce Department announced on Thursday in Washington. Economists had expected an increase of 0.6 percent on average.
Excluding volatile auto sales, retail sales also rose 0.4 percent in December. From this point of view, sales were also disappointing, although not as clearly: an increase of 0.5 percent had been expected.
Retailers’ sales are seen as an indicator of the strength of consumption, which traditionally plays a particularly important role in the growth of the world’s largest economy. (dpa)