US Retail Sales fell by 1.9% MoM in December, according to data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Friday. That was well below market expectations for a MoM decline of -0.1% and marked a sharp deceleration from November's growth rate of 0.2% (downwardly revised from 0.3%). That meant that the YoY growth rate in retail sales eased to just under 17.0% from 18.24% in November. Core Retail Sales posted an even larger MoM miss on expectations, dropping 2.3% in December versus forecasts for a 0.2% rise, versus November's 0.1% MoM rise (which was revised lower from 0.3%). The Retail Control, which is more closely ... (full story)