Retail sales in the United States cooled in December, according to government data released on Thursday, despite receiving a boost from petrol stations and autos.

The performance was likely helped by replacement vehicle sales after the devastation of Hurricane Helene in September, analysts said, and consumers buying cars earlier to avoid potentially higher tariffs.

But still, overall, sales grew 0.4 percent from November to December, reaching US$729.2 billion, the Department of Commerce said.

This was a slower pace than November's 0.8 percent reading.

From a year ago, retail sales were up 3.9 percent in December.

For all of 2024, total sales were 3.0 percent higher from 2023, said the report.

Among sectors, sales at restaurants and bars slid 0.3 percent from November to December, while those at building material and supplies dealers dropped 2.0 percent.

But at motor vehicle and parts dealers, sales rose 0.7 percent on-month, while those at petrol stations jumped 1.5 percent – likely due to higher petrol prices in December.

"Attempts to get ahead of post-tariff price hikes seem to be lifting measures of underlying retail sales," said economists Samuel Tombs and Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics in a recent note.

But they warned: "Sales (that) pulled forward due to hurricane damage and the threat of tariffs, or a passing boost from the shifting timing of Black Friday, do not provide the foundation for a sustained climb in spending." (AFP)