Consumer Spending Declines in December

Washington, DC, Jan. 14, 2015 — U.S. consumer spending last month decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.9% from November, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

That was the largest monthly decline since last January.

Excluding gasoline sales, spending fell 0.4%.

Economists had expected overall sales to fall 0.2%.

For all of 2014, retail sales rose 4%, down slightly from a 4.1% increase in 2013.