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Fall in Dec retail sales points to slowdown in Q4 GDP growth

Inflation may not hit Fed target of 2% after producer prices fall on weak energy costs

Published Fri, Jan 15, 2016 · 09:50 PM
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Washington

US RETAIL sales fell in December as unseasonably warm weather undercut purchases of winter apparel and cheaper petrol weighed on receipts at service stations, the latest indication that economic growth braked sharply in the fourth quarter.

Other data on Friday showed producer prices fell last month on weak energy costs and modest gains in the price of services, suggesting inflation could struggle to reach the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target this year.

The Commerce Department said retail sales slipped 0.1 per cent after rising 0.4 per cent in November. For all of 2015, retail sales rose 2.1 per cent, the weakest reading since 2009, af…

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