WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales rose for a sixth consecutive month in December, with big gains in sales of autos and furniture. The increases lifted sales for the year by the largest amount in more than a decade.
Sales rose 0.6% last month to $381 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. The gain boosted retail sales 13.5% above the recession low hit in December 2008.
The string of increases pushed sales for all of 2010 up 6.7%, the largest annual increase since 1999.
And the Federal Reserve said activity last month at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.8% — the biggest increase in five months. Industrial production showed gains in every month but one in 2010.
Separately, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.5% in December, the largest increase in 18 months and a reflection of rising gas prices. But outside of energy costs, there was little sign of widespread inflation. Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food, was up just 0.1% in December.
Consumers, who fuel 70% of economic activity, are spending more money and that's a major reason economists expect stronger economic growth this year.
December capped the best holiday shopping season ever on record for retailers in terms of holiday revenue. Holiday 2010 revenue results rose a robust 5.7% to $462 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's analysis of government figures.
That marked the biggest percentage increase since 2004, when holiday sales rose 5.9%. The holiday 2010 results well surpassed the trade group's forecast of 3.3% that was upgraded last month and would have put holiday sales at $451.5 billion, close to the holiday 2007 levels of $452.8 billion.
The figures, which track revenue from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, exclude auto, restaurant and gasoline sales and only includes online sales from physical stores. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation.
