US retail sales slightly rise in Nov

According to the US Commerce Department, overall retail sales in the US slightly increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis in November after they were up by 0.6% in October. Apart from the slower growth on the month, the increase also fell below the market expectations which called for an increase of 0.4%. On a yearly basis, retail sales climbed by 3.8% in November.

The increase in retail sales was driven by the rise in sales by food service and drinking places as well as by furniture stores.

The reports showed that excluding the drop of 0.5% in auto and auto part sales, retail sales were up by 0.2% in November but it still missed the economists’ expectations of growth of 0.4%.