US retail sales unchanged in December, missing expectations

​​​​​​​By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Retail trade in the US was stable from the previous month in December, following a rise of 0.6%, according to US Census Bureau data released Tuesday.

The markets had expected retail sales to rise 0.4%, and trade volume totaled $735 billion.

The biggest rises were seen in sales at building material and garden equipment dealers (+1.2%), sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores (+0.4%).

Sales at gasoline stations (0.3%), food and beverage stores (+0.2%), and nonstore retailers (+0.1%) also saw increases in December.

But sales were down at miscellaneous store retailers (-0.9%), furniture stores (-0.9%) and clothing retailers (-0.7%).

Sales at the electronics and appliance stores (-0.4%), motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.2%), health (-0.2%), food services and drinking places (-0.1%), and general merchandise stores (-0.1%) also decreased.

Meanwhile, sales that are used to compute GDP, which do not include food services, car dealers, construction material stores and petrol stations ticked down 0.1%.

On an annual basis, retail sales rose 2.4% in December.