U.S. retail sales in December 2022 fell 1.1% month-on-month, lower than market expectations

　　China News Service, Washington, January 18 (Reporter Sha Hanting) The U.S. Department of Commerce released data on the 18th local time showing that U.S. retail sales in December 2022 fell by 1.1% month-on-month, which was lower than market consensus expectations.

　　Data show that retail sales in the United States in December 2022 fell by 1.1% month-on-month and increased by 6% year-on-year.

The 1.1% month-on-month drop was the largest monthly drop in 2022.

　　Specifically, sales of automobiles and parts fell 1.2% from the previous month; sales of gasoline fell 4.6%; sales of electronics and home appliances fell 1.1%; sales of furniture and home products fell 2.5%; online sales fell 1.1% ; Food and beverage sales were unchanged from the previous month; supermarket sales rose 0.1%.

　　According to data released by the National Retail Federation on the same day, retail sales in the holiday season in the United States in November and December increased by only 5.3% year-on-year, which was lower than the expectation of 6% to 8%.

Sales in the same period in 2021 will increase by 13.5% year-on-year.

　　According to the analysis, high inflation, high commodity prices, and high borrowing costs were the main reasons for the decline in retail sales in December.

In the coming months, consumers are expected to spend more selectively.

The Wall Street Journal survey of economists shows that experts generally believe that if the Fed continues to raise interest rates, the U.S. economy will enter a recession in 2023.

　　In response to inflation, the Fed will raise interest rates seven times in 2022.

In December, the Fed raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%.

　　According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor on January 12, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) in December 2022 will rise by 6.5% year-on-year, and the growth rate has declined for six consecutive months.

US media predict that as inflation "cools down", the Federal Reserve may slow down the pace of interest rate hikes at the meeting on interest rates that ends on February 1 this year.

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