Retail sales in Jan. up .4, forecast .7. Retail sales revised down for both Nov. and Dec. 2011. *Jan.'s increase in retail sales such as it was was led by gas prices.*
2/14/12, "Retail Sales Not as Strong as Expected; Import Prices Rise," Reuters via CNBC
"U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in January as consumers cut back on car purchases and did less online shopping, while import prices, particularly in energy, pushed higher.
Total retail sales increased 0.4 percent after being flat in December, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales climbing 0.7 percent last month.
The government had initially estimated that sales rose 0.1 percent in December, and on Tuesday it also revised downward its reading for retail sales in November. The revisions suggest consumers did not spend as much as previously thought during the holiday shopping season.
Sales of cars and auto parts dropped 1.1 percent, while shopping at nonstore retailers, a category dominated by online sales, also fell 1.1 percent, the biggest decline since March 2009.
Fueling the overall increase in retail sales during January, spending at gasoline stations rose 1.4 percent — the biggest gain since March 2011 — while receipts for electronics increased 0.5 percent."...via Instapundit
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