Official figures show that sales at US retailers fell at a steeper than expected rate in December, as a deteriorating economic environment forced consumers to cut back on spending during the Christmas holiday period.
The figures helped send world stock markets dowh sharply this afternoon. Wall Street markets were 3% lower, while the Dublin and London markets lost around 5%.
More details on how markets reacted
The Commerce Department said total retail sales fell 2.7% last month from the previous month after a revised 2.1% drop in November. November's fall was bigger than the previously reported 1.8%.
December's drop was the biggest since October last year when sales fell 3.4%. For the whole of 2008, sales eased 0.1%, the department said.
Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales were down a record 3.1% after a revised 2.5% decline in November. Total sales, excluding cars, rose 3% in 2008. Petrol sales tumbled 15.9% after diving by a record 18.3% in November.
