- Thomas Costerg, a senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank
American shoppers curbed their spending last month, fuelling concerns about the momentum in consumer spending heading into 2016. Sales at retailers declined 0.1% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted $448.1 billion in December, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales rose 0.4% in November, compared with an initially reported 0.2% gain. From a year earlier, sales grew just 2.1% in 2015, marking the slowest increase in the six-year expansion. Consumer spending is a key catalyst of the US economic growth, representing more than two-thirds of economic output. Household consumption has helped the world's number one economy grow in recent quarters despite a stronger Dollar and weak demand overseas, which have hit US exporters.
A separate report showed US producer prices declined in December, underscoring persistently low inflation. The producer price index, which measures the prices companies receive for goods and services, dropped 0.2% in December, the Labor Department reported. Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core prices inched up 0.1%. Overall producer prices were down 1.0% in December from a year earlier, the 11th consecutive year-over-year decline. Core prices increased 0.3% from a year earlier.
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