Retail sales in the United States December 2020

Retail sales in the United States fell further in December as renewed measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 cut spending at restaurants and cut traffic to malls, the latest sign that the economy lost considerable speed at the end of 2020.

Retail sales fell 0.7% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Data for November has been revised down to show sales down 1.4% instead of 1.1% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales unchanged in December.

Excluding autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales fell 1.9% last month after declining 1.1% in November . These so-called basic retail sales correspond most closely to the consumer expenditure component of gross domestic product. They were previously estimated to have fallen 0.5% in November.

The report followed last week’s announcement that the economy cut jobs in December for the first time in eight months. More job losses are likely in January, as new claims for unemployment benefits surged in the first week of the month. The data is in line with economists’ expectations for a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Rampant coronavirus infections and government delays in approving more money to help businesses and the unemployed are causing the loss of economic momentum. The government provided nearly $ 900 billion in additional pandemic relief at the end of December.

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a $ 1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package that includes stepping up the response to the virus and direct aid to households and small businesses. The proposed additional relief and accelerated vaccine rollout are expected to boost spending and the economy in the second half of 2021.

Growth estimates for the fourth quarter are around 5% annualized, largely reflecting inventory build-up.

The economy grew at a rate of 33.4% in the third quarter after contracting at a rate of 31.4% in the April-June quarter, the deepest since the government began to hold registers in 1947.