December retail sales in the US fell 1.9% from the previous month, the first decline in five months.
It seems that the effects of the new corona mutant virus and prolonged inflation have appeared.
The US Department of Commerce announced on the 14th that retail sales in December were 626.8 billion dollars, about 71 trillion yen in Japanese yen, down 1.9% from the previous month.
Sales declined for the first time in five months, falling short of market expectations, which were expected to remain flat.
Looking at the breakdown, "online mail order" decreased by 8.7%, "department store" decreased by 7.0%, and "food and drink / bar" decreased by 0.8%.
Retail sales increased by more than 19% over the previous year, showing a recovery in the economy over the last year, but it seems that the impact of the Omicron strain, which spread toward the end of the year, was apparent. Will be.
In the United States, the rate of increase in consumer prices has reached a high level for the first time in 39 years, and it is possible that prolonged inflation has led to a tendency to curb consumption.
In the financial markets, there is growing speculation that the Fed, the central bank, will raise interest rates in March, giving priority to controlling inflation, but if monetary tightening is too urgent, the economy may cool down. Yes, there is growing interest in the Fed's policy decisions.