December retail-sales decline biggest in almost a year

Washington

RETAIL sales in the United States slumped in December by the most in almost a year, reflecting a broadbased retreat that will probably prompt economists to cut growth forecasts.

The 0.9 per cent drop, the biggest since January 2014, followed a 0.4 per cent gain in November that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed on Wednesday in Washington. Last month's decrease was almost twice as large as the most pessimistic estimate of 87 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Electronics and clothi…