12 January 2001, 16:42  US Retail Sales-OVERVIEW

--US December retail sales +0.1%; ex-automotive sales unchanged
--US November retail sales revised to -0.5% from -0.4%
--US November ex-auto retail sales revised to -0.2% from +0.2%
--US December durable goods sales +0.1%; non-durable sales unchanged
--US December auto sales +0.3%; durable goods ex-autos -0.2%
--US December building material sales -0.1%; furniture -0.3%
--US December dept store sales -0.6%; food stores +0.8%
--US December gas station sales -2.3%; clothing +0.9%
--US 2000 retail sales +7.9% vs +9.1% in 1999
By Simon Kennedy, BridgeNews
Washington--Jan. 12--While avoiding the decline analysts had predicted, U.S. retail sales still rose just 0.1% in December amid a drop in holiday season sales at department stores and a mild recovery in activity at auto dealers. Excluding autos, retail sales were unchanged. Economists had expected a 0.3% drop in overall sales and a 0.1% rise once autos were ignored.
* * * In November, sales fell a revised 0.5%, last reported down 0.4%; excluding autos, sales were revised to down 0.2% from up 0.2%. For the year as a whole, sales rose 7.9%, slowing from the 9.1% gain in 1999, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Despite gloomy reports from the leading car producers and their introduction of substantial incentive programs, the latest Commerce Department snapshot of retail activity showed automobile sales up 0.3% in December following a 1.3% drop a month earlier.
However, weakness was evident in the nation's department stores, where sales fell 0.6% in December after being flat in November. They had already reported a dismal holiday season.
Amid falling oil prices, sales as gasoline service stations also fell, dropping 2.3% in the final month of the year.
Retail activity, so strong a year ago, has dimmed lately alongside the wider economy as sagging consumer confidence, lower stock prices, higher energy bills and a colder than normal winter all weigh on demand.
Friday's report is the latest in a steady stream of government indicators to point to a weak economy. In spite of some pockets of strength, the report is likely to be seized by analysts as further reason to think the Federal Reserve will cut rates when its policy makers next gather Jan. 30-31.
The Fed electrified financial markets Jan. 3 by cutting interest rates by 50 basis points in a surprise decision made outside its normal schedule of meetings. Justifying that action the Federal Open Market Committee noted, among other things, "further weakening of sales, and in the context of consumer confidence, tight conditions in some segments of financial markets, and high energy prices sapping household and business purchasing power."
Elsewhere in the retail report, sales of durable goods--those designed to last more than three years and so most sensitive to interest rates because they are usually bought with borrowed money--rose 0.1% In the prior month they had fallen 0.9%.
Excluding autos, durable goods sales fell 0.2% in December, the same as in November.
Building material sales slipped 0.1% in December, perhaps as a result of the cold weather, after dropping a revised 0.7% in November. Furniture sales fell 0.3% in December after a 0.1% decline in November.
NON-DURABLE GOODS
Retail sales in the larger non-durable goods sector were flat, after falling a revised 0.2% in November.
Food stores saw a gain of 0.8% in sales following no change in November.
Apparel sales rose 0.9%, reversing a 0.9% drop in November.
WHAT WAS EXPECTED
Private estimates for overall sales ran from down 0.7% to up 0.3%. Non-automotive sales were forecast in a range of down 0.5% to up 0.6%.
OTHER DETAILS, HISTORICALS
--December retail sales rose to a seasonally adjusted $271.344 billion.
Sales were up 3.4% versus a year earlier.
--Excluding the automotive sector, sales stood at $204.906 billion. Non-auto sales were 4.2% above their year-earlier level.
--In the three-month period ended in December, retail sales were up 0.1% from the prior three months and up 5.1% from the same period a year earlier. End
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