| Click for the Finfacts Ireland Portal Homepage |

Finfacts Business News Centre

Home 
 
 News
 Irish
 Irish Economy
 EU Economy
 US Economy
 UK Economy
 Global Economy
 International
 Property
 Innovation
 
 Analysis/Comment
 
 Asia Economy

RSS FEED


How to use our RSS feed

 
Web Finfacts

See Search Box lower down this column for searches of Finfacts news pages. Where there may be the odd special character missing from an older page, it's a problem that developed when Interactive Tools upgraded to a new content management system.

Welcome

Finfacts is Ireland's leading business information site and you are in its business news section.

We provide access to live business television and business related videos from: Bloomberg TV; The Wall Street Journal; CNBC and the Financial Times. Click image:

Links

Finfacts Homepage

Irish Share Prices

Euribor Daily Rates

Irish Economy

Global Income Per Capita

Global Cost of Living

Irish Tax 2008

Climate Change Reports

Global News

Bloomberg News

CNN Money

Cnet Tech News

Newspapers

Irish Independent

Irish Times

Irish Examiner

New York Times

Financial Times

Technology News

 

Feedback

 

Content Management by interactivetools.com.

News : International Last Updated: Apr 24, 2009 - 5:31:05 PM


US retail sales fell 2.7% in December - down 9.8% in 2008; Import prices plunged 9.3%  in 2008 - a record decline
By Finfacts Team
Jan 14, 2009 - 3:22:08 PM

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

The US Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of US retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $343.2 billion, a decrease of 2.7 percent from the previous month and 9.8 percent below December 2007.  Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that import prices plunged 9.3% in 2008 -  a record decline. 

Total sales for the 12 months of 2008 were down 0.1 percent (±0.4%)* from 2007. Total sales for the October through December 2008 period were down 7.7 percent from the same period a year ago. The October to November 2008 percent change was revised from –1.8 percent  to –2.1 percent.

Retail trade sales were down 2.7 percent from November 2008 and were 10.8 percent below last year. Gasoline stations sales were down 35.5 percent from December 2007 and motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 22.4 percent from last year.

US import prices plunge at record rate

The U.S. Import Price Index declined 4.2 percent in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of  the U.S. Department of Labor reported today, following decreases in each of the previous four months.   Export prices also fell for the fifth consecutive month, declining 2.3 percent in December after a 3.4 percent drop the previous month.

Import prices fell 4.2 percent in December and have fallen 21.7 percent overall since July.  Continued lower prices for both petroleum and nonpetroleum prices in December contributed to the  decrease.  Overall, import prices fell 9.3 percent in 2008, the first year the index declined since a 9.1 percent drop in 2001.  The 2008 decrease was also the largest calendar year decline since the index was first published in 1982.

Petroleum prices fell sharply for the fifth consecutive month, decreasing 21.4 percent in  December after falling 55.5 percent over the previous four months.  Despite increasing 51.6 percent over  the first seven months of 2008, petroleum prices finished the year down 47.0 percent for the December 2007-2008 period.  That decline was the largest calendar year decrease since the index was first  published in 1982 and followed a 48.1 percent increase in 2007.  

Related Articles


© Copyright 2009 by Finfacts.com

Top of Page

International
Latest Headlines
Markets: Greece back at the brink; Barclays reports dip in 2011 profits - - cuts cash bonuses
Friday Newspaper Review - - Irish Business News - - February 10, 2012
Markets: Credit Suisse reports Q4 2011 loss; UK-listed Greencore has strong start to its financial year; ECB expected to keep rates on hold
Thursday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 09, 2012
Markets: Smurfit Kappa reports pre-tax profits trebled in 2011; Nokia to cut 4,000 jobs and move production to Asia
Wednesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 08, 2012
Markets: UBS reports plunge in 2011 profit: BP reports profit surge; Santander adds €2.3bn to provisions; Toyota's 9-month profit dips; Glencore to buy Xstrata
Tuesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 07, 2012
Markets News: Aer Lingus reports rise in January traffic
Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 06, 2012
Markets: Ryanair warns Aer Lingus on covering €400m deficit in staff pension fund
Friday Newspaper Review - - Irish Business News - - February 03, 2012
Markets: Deutsche Bank plunges to loss in Q4 2011; Baltic Dry Index sinks to 25-year low on shipping glut
Thursday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 02, 2012
Markets News: Amazon.com's fourth-quarter earnings fell 57%
Wednesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - February 01, 2012
Markets News: EU25 leaders agree to sign fiscal compact agreement in March
Tuesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 31, 2012
Markets News: EU leaders expected to approve text of new intergovernmental treaty today
Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 30, 2012
Spain's jobless rate at end 2111 was 22.85%; Samsung reports record profits; Baltic Dry Index down 27 days in a row
Friday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 27 , 2012
Markets News: Japan's struggling giants NEC and Nintendo expect big losses; NEC to cut 10,000 jobs
Thursday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 26, 2012
Markets News: Japan reports first annual trade deficit since 1980; World Economic Forum opens in Davos
Wednesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 25, 2012
Markets News: Irish retail sales continued to fall in Q4 2011; India's Reserve Bank switches stance to economic growth
Tuesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 24, 2012
Markets News: EU finance ministers to discuss new bailout fund and Greece restructuring talks
Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 23, 2012
Markets: Year of Dragon set to commence as China's manufacturing weakness persists; Greencore decamps to London
Friday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 22, 2012
Markets News: 1880 vintage Eastman Kodak has little left but a patents' trove; Readymix in takeover talks
Thursday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 19, 2012
Markets News: Tullow Oil says revenues doubled to $2.3bn in 2011
Wednesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 18, 2012
Markets News: RBS sells Dublin-based aviation leasing unit for $7.3bn; C&C reports strong Christmas drinks performance
Tuesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 17, 2012
Markets News: Sarkozy to continue to implement reforms despite ratings downgrade; DCC says good weather is bad news
Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - January 16, 2012