Retail Sales Unexpectedly Weak In December

Date: January 15, 2015

Results From Previous Months Also Revised Downward

The
Department of Commerce reported that retail and restaurant sales fell sharply
in December. The 0.9 percent drop was significantly larger than expected by
economists surveyed by the media, who were generally look for a far smaller
decline. In addition, November’s originally-reported gain of 0.7 percent was
revised downward to 0.4 percent, while October’s increase of 0.5 percent was
revised down to a 0.3 percent gain.

What This Means For Small Business:

The unexpected numbers, along with
the downward revisions, suggested to many in the financial media that growth in
the 4th quarter may not have been nearly as strong as it was in the 3rd.

Additional Reading:

Among many other news outlets, the numbers were
covered by Bloomberg News, the AP, and the Wall Street Journal.

This news article is intended to keep small business owners apprised of current events that may affect them. It does not necessarily reflect NFIB’s policy position on such issues.

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