FX.co ★ US Retail Sales Unexpectedly Stall

US retail sales were unexpectedly flat in December 2025, following a 0.6% increase in November and missing expectations for a 0.4% rise. Higher sales at building material and garden equipment dealers (up 1.2%), sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores (0.4%), gasoline stations (0.3%), food and beverage stores (0.2%), and nonstore retailers (0.1%) were offset by declines at miscellaneous store retailers (-0.9%), furniture stores (-0.9%), clothing retailers (-0.7%), electronics and appliance stores (-0.4%), motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.2%), health and personal care stores (-0.2%), food services and drinking places (-0.1%), and general merchandise stores (-0.1%). Excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, retail sales were also unchanged. Meanwhile, the so‑called control group — which excludes food services, auto dealers, building materials stores, and gasoline stations and feeds directly into GDP calculations — slipped 0.1%, marking its first decline in three months.