US government figures show that the country's retail sales fell by more than expected in June for a second straight month. These are the latest set of figures indicating that a US recovery is losing momentum. Sales declined 0.5% from May to $360.2 billion, according to the Commerce Department. Most economists had expected sales to decline by 0.2% after a larger, revised 1.1% fall in May. Consumer spending is a key engine of growth for the world's largest economy recovering from a brutal recession.