NEW YORK—Americans pulled back their spending more than expected in January after the traditional holiday season splurge.
Retail sales fell 0.8 percent in January from the strong pace in December when they rose a revised 0.4 percent, according to the Commerce Department’s report on Thursday. Excluding sales at auto dealerships and gas stations, sales were down 0.5 percent. The decline was bigger than the 0.10 percent drop that economists expected and marked the lowest monthly figure since March of last year.
