Seasonally adjusted advance estimates of retail and food services sales in the United States observed a monthly decline of 0.8% to come in at $700.3 billion in January, the Census Bureau said in its preliminary report published on Thursday. The figure stood lower than analysts predicted for the reported period.
On an annual basis, retail and food services sales rose by 0.6% from January 2023.
Meanwhile, January's retail trade sales dropped by 1.1% month-on-month or 0.2% year-on-year. On an annual level, nonstore retailers surged by 6.4%, and food services and drinking places climbed by 6.3%.
