Courtesy of Mish.
So much for those allegedly strong Christmas sales. In fact, sales of nearly everything were down in the today’s Commerce Department Retail Sales Report for December 2014.
Retail sales were down 0.9% compared to November vs. economist expectations of a 0.1% decrease. November was revised from +0.7 percent to +0.4 percent.
Retail Sales vs. November
Month-over-month retail sales, autos, general merchandise, and ex-auto sales are all lower.
The report shows store retailers down 1.9%, building materials & garden supplies down 1.9%, electronics & appliance stores down 1.6%, motor vehicles and parts down 0.7%, and general merchandise down 0.9%.
Food services and drinking was up 0.8%. Home furnishings posted a 0.8% gain as well. Gasoline was down 14.2%.
Retail Sales vs. December 2013
Take a good look at autos, one of the key drivers of overall sales growth for the past year.
Commerce reports “auto and other motor vehicle dealers were up 9.8 percent from December 2013, and food services and drinking places were up 8.2 percent from last year.”
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