【环球财经】美国零售数据意外陷于停滞

Core Insights - The U.S. retail and food services sales for December 2025 were reported at $735 billion, showing no month-over-month growth, significantly below the market consensus expectation of 0.4% and the previous month's growth of 0.6% [1] - Excluding motor vehicles and gasoline, retail and food services sales also remained flat month-over-month, while the market consensus and the revised previous month's growth were both 0.3% [1] - Year-over-year, retail and food services sales in December increased by 2.4%, which is lower than the consumer price index increase of 2.7% for the same month [1] Group 1: Sales Performance - Sales in categories such as automobiles, furniture, electronics, clothing, and health and personal care products decreased month-over-month, while sales in building materials, gasoline, food and beverages, and sporting goods increased [1] - The K-shaped economy is highlighted, where high-income consumers are spending robustly, while middle- and low-income consumers are more cautious [1] Group 2: Economic Outlook - The weak retail data for December 2025 is not expected to undermine the performance of the fourth quarter of the previous year, but January 2026 consumption data may be weak due to extreme winter weather in many regions [2] - Analysts suggest that holiday shopping may have been pulled forward, and government tax refunds along with wealth effects are expected to continue supporting U.S. consumer spending [2]