After two months of strong increases in retail sales, reports show sales tapered off in November.

November saw a decrease in industrial production and an insignificant rise in retail sales, reports the New York Times. Retail sales moderated after two months of strong increases, as income and household wealth were rising at record highs. “The weak retail sales and industrial output readings reported on Wednesday, however, were unlikely to deter the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates later in the day, against the backdrop of steadily rising inflation and a tightening labour market,” wrote the Times.

"Consumer spending remains the main engine of growth for the economy," Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York, told New York Times. "Solid employment growth and accelerating wage gains will continue to support household spending, a dynamic that should allow the Fed to raise rates today and encourage them to signal a couple of rate hikes next year."

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