Friday, January 12, 2007

December Retail Sales Rose More Than Expected, Electronics Shine

December U.S. Retail Sales Rose More Than Expected
Excluding Autos, Gasoline, Retail Sales Increased 0.7%
By JEFF BATER AND ELIZABETH PRICE, January 12, 2007 9:36 a.m. Wall Street Journal

U.S. retail sales showed surprising strength during December, with a wide spectrum of businesses sharing holiday cheer, but demand the month before was lowered sharply.

A separate report showed U.S. import prices also rose more than expected last month, boosted by a recovery in imported petroleum prices.

Retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.9%, the Commerce Department said Friday. November sales rose by 0.6%, revised lower from a previously reported 1.0% advance. Wall Street expected a robust, yet smaller, increase in December sales. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had overall sales rising 0.7% in the final month of fourth-quarter 2006...

...Sales rose 1.2% at health and personal care stores; 2.3% at restaurants and bars; 0.7% at food and beverage stores; 3.0% at electronics and appliance stores; 0.9% at general merchandise stores; 0.3% at mail-order and Internet retailers; 0.7% at furniture stores; and 0.6% at clothing stores. Sales fell 1.1% at building-material and garden stores and 0.1% at sporting goods, hobby and book stores....read more: here

Labels: retail