US retail sales fall further in November on raging coronavirus and lack of fresh fiscal stimulus

The US retail sales fell for the second straight month and dropped well below expectations in November, with further deceleration being mainly caused by raging new Covid-19 infections that add to growing signs of slowing economic recovery.

Retail sales dropped 1.1% in November from downwardly revised October’s figure from 0.3% to -0.1%, the first dip since April, when lockdowns on the first wave of coronavirus devastated the economy.

The second consecutive fall in retail sales, with acceleration in November could prompt the US Congress to finally agree on another fiscal stimulus package, as the first package of $3 trillion has drained.

The plunge in sales was led by 6.8% drop in clothing stores, restaurants and bar’s sales were down by 4%, electronic appliances 3.5%, auto sales 1.7% and 1.1% drop in furniture sales.

So-called core retail sales which exclude autos, gasoline, food and building materials and correspond most closely with consumer spending, fell by 0.9% in November from 0.1% drop previous month and against forecasted rise by 0.3%.

Downbeat retail sales add to negative signals from weak figures from the US labor sector, released earlier this month and further darken the outlook for the US economy which slipped into recession in February.