US retail sales and jobless claims data showed a strengthening economy today, but prices for exports and imports both fell, signalling little added inflationary pressure in the past month.
US retail sales in November, the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, added a solid 0.7% from the previous month to $449.3 billion, Commerce Department data showed.
That was up 5.1% from a year ago, accelerating from previous months while sales over the September-November quarter together grew 4.7% year on year.
Industries showing the most strength in sales were cars, building supplies and clothing stores, as well as general online retailers, where sales were up 8.7% year on year.
Meanwhile, weekly claims for unemployment insurance edged lower but remained in the trendline for this year.
Jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, were 294,000 for the week to December 6, down 3,000 from a week earlier.
The four-week moving average, which has risen somewhat since late October, was little-changed at 299,250, compared to 332,750 a year ago.
