US consumers failed to cheer the market this afternoon, with figures published today showing retail sales rose 1.2pc in December from the previous month. This is the largest increase in retail sales since July. The rise in December retail sales was in line with the lower end of Wall Street forecasts, but many had hoped for a 1.5pc increase in sales and the 1.2pc rise is expected to fuel fears that the economy is stalling. Excluding autos, retail sales were unchanged in December, weaker than Wall Street expectations of a 0.3pc rise. In November, overall retail sales rose a revised 0.9pc, up from the earlier estimate that sales rose 0.4pc in the month.
Sales excluding autos rose a revised 0.3pc in November, down from the initial estimate of a 0.5pc rise. In December, retail and food sales excluding gasoline rose 1.3pc. So-called 'core' retail sales, or sales excluding autos and gasoline, remained unchanged after rising 0.3pc in November. On an unadjusted basis, year-on-year, retail sales in December rose 3.4pc. //www.fxcentre.com