Retail sales in the United States plunged nearly a full percent in December, adding to investor concerns about the U.S. and global economies.
The federal government estimated retail and food sales at about $442.9 billion last month, representing a 0.9 percent decline from November, which saw an increase of 0.4 percent. The December drop was the steepest since January and exceeded analysts’ estimates of a 0.2 percent decline.
The largest sales declines were among gasoline stations (down 6.5 percent), home improvement stores (1.9 percent), miscellaneous store retailers (1.9 percent) and electronics and appliance stores (1.6 percent).
Total sales for 2014 were up 4 percent from 2013, the smallest annual increase since 2009.
The decline added to ongoing concerns of a slowdown in the global economy, contributing to a drop of more than 200 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in early trading Wednesday.
However, December retail sales were up 3.2 percent year over year, topped by automobile sales (up 9.8 percent) and food-and-drink establishments (8.2 percent).
