12:04 PM EST, 02/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Retail sales in the US fell more than market expectations last month amid declines in most categories, including the motor vehicle component, data from the Census Bureau showed Friday.

Sales decreased 0.9% in January, following an upwardly revised 0.7% gain the month before. The latest reading compared with a 0.2% decline expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Annually, retail sales were up 4.2% last month, according to the report.

Spending on motor vehicles and parts moved down 2.8% sequentially in January, while outlays at gas stations rose 0.9%, official data showed. Retail sales without the two components dipped 0.5%, compared with Wall Street's view for a 0.3% increase.

"Auto sales weighed heavily on the headline, following a jump in demand late last year," Ksenia Bushmeneva, economist at TD Economics, said. "The breadth of pullback in sales activity suggests that inclement weather and the wildfires in California could have also contributed to the slower pace of spending in January - suggesting we should see some giveback in the months ahead."

Declines were seen in categories such as sporting goods and hobby stores, furniture shops and clothing outlet. Retail sales at eating and drinking places and general merchandise stores rose.

"A resilient labor market, strong household balance sheets, and lower interest rates than a year ago mean we still expect consumer spending to rise at a solid pace in 2025," Oxford Economics Deputy Chief US Economist Michael Pearce said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires. "The proliferation of tariff threats takes off some of the shine, but are grounds for us to cut, not slash the forecast."

Earlier in the week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer inflation accelerated in January on both sequential and annual bases, while producer price growth rose more than Wall Street's expectations.