US retail sales down 2.7% in December: data

US retail sales fell 2.7 per cent in December, reflecting decline in consumer spending even during the holiday season, triggered by continuous job losses amid an economic recession, official data showed.

According to data released by the Commerce Department, retail sales dropped 2.7 per cent in December 2008. It is the sixth month in a row that sales have fallen as the economic downturn is taking its toll on the spending habits of US consumers.

Retail sales were down 0.1 per cent for the whole of 2008, in stark contrast to the 4.1 per cent gain in 2007.

Decline in November sales was revised to 2.1 per cent against the previously reported 1.8 per cent. December's drop was the biggest since October last year when sales fell 3.4 per cent.

Presenting a gloomy picture, the data showed that nearly all areas of retail sales experienced a decline. While sales at apparel stores declined 2.5 per cent in December, those at department stores dropped by 2.3 per cent and home furnishing store sales were down by 1.8 per cent.

Auto sales fell by 0.7 per cent, down by a massive 22.4 per cent from a year ago. Gasoline sales too tumbled 15.9 per cent after diving by a record 18.3 per cent in November.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of total economic activity. Economists have warned that the current recession, already the longest in a quarter-century, would continue at least until the second half of this year.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said businesses cut their inventories by 0.7 per cent in November, the largest decline in seven years and the third straight month that stockpiles were reduced as companies tried to cope with huge decline in sales. Total business sales fell by a record 5.1 per cent in November, the government said.