US retail sales rise less than forecast in January
US retail sales rose less than expected in January as consumers cut back on car purchases and did less online shopping.
Total retail sales increased 0.4 per cent after being flat in December, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
The government had initially estimated that sales rose 0.1 per cent in December, and on Tuesday it also revised downward its reading for retail sales in November. The revisions suggest consumers did not spend as much as previously thought during the holiday shopping season.
Sales of cars and autoparts dropped 1.1 per cent, while shopping at nonstore retailers, a category dominated by online sales, also fell 1.1 per cent, the biggest decline since March 2009.
Fuelling the overall increase in retail sales during January, spending at gasoline stations rose 1.4 percent – the biggest gain since March 2011 – while receipts for electronics increased 0.5 percent.
Excluding autos, retail sales advanced 0.7 per cent, exceeding analysts’ expectations of a 0.5 percent increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline and building materials, climbed 0.7 per cent in January.
Core sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of the government’s gross domestic product report.