It was the smallest gain in retail trade since January of 2021. Sales of food, beverages, and tobacco declined 5.5% (vs -0.2 percent in November).

At the same time, sales grew at softer rates for automotive fuel (11.5% vs 16.6%) and non-food products (2.1% vs 3.4%).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade fell by 1.4%, following a marginally revised 0.4% drop in November.