Commerce Department figures released Thursday show U.S. retail sales fell 1.2 percent in December from the previous month, the most since 2009, rather than the slight increase economists had forecast. Jim O’Sullivan of High Frequency Economics Ltd said the figures were so much weaker than expected “that the data lose credibility,” while Stephen Stanley of Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC said the report “seems seriously out of whack” given mostly upbeat comments from retailers about the Christmas season.
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