Most economists were looking for retail sales across the U.S. in December 2005 to post a nine-tenths percent increase from November. They and presumably retailers were a bit disappointed. Retail sales, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $357.8 billion in December, seven-tenths of a percentage point higher than November sales, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported on Jan. 13.
Retail sales for all of 2005, however, were a healthy 7.3% higher than for all of 2004, the department also reported.
