Retail sales, PPI keep heading south

Retail sales fell for the fifth consecutive month — 1.8% in November — according to the Department of Commerce. That’s compared with a 2.9% decline in October. The November decline was short of the 2% decline expected by economists who were surveyed by Briefing.com Inc. of Chicago. Retail sales had fallen 7.4% since November 2007, according to the Commerce Department. November gasoline-station sales plummeted 14.7% in November, following a 12.9% drop in October. The decline in retail sales reflected a 2.8% decline in sales at automobile and auto parts dealers. Retail sales, excluding automobiles and parts, fell 1.6% in November, which was short of the 1.8% decline that was estimated by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. In another report, the producer price index, a barometer of wholesale inflation, declined 2.2% in November, marking its fourth consecutive monthly decline, according to a Department of Labor report. That followed a 2.8% drop in October. The November decline was due in part to an 11.2% decrease in energy prices, while food prices were unchanged. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.1% on the month, down from a 0.4% gain in October and was the smallest increase since March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected that the producer price index would fall 2%, while they expected the core rate to increase 0.1%.