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"The retail sales [data] suggests that spending isn't really picking up any momentum"
- Sean Incremona, economist at 4Cast Ltd
U.S. month on month retail sales grew less than expected in December and jobless claims rose sharply, signalling the economic recovery remains shaky. Total retail sales rose 0.1 per cent after increasing 0.4 per cent in November, said the Census Bureau on Thursday. Economists expected sales to advance 0.3 per cent.
"The retail sales [data] suggests that spending isn't really picking up any momentum," said Sean Incremona, economist at 4Cast Ltd in New York.
In a separate report, the Department of Labor said the number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits rose to 399 thousand in the week ended January 7 from 375 thousand the week before.
"The jobless claims are certainly not going in the right direction," said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.