Retail sales in the United States declined by an unexpected 0.1 percent in June resulting mainly from the soaring gasoline prices, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

The decline surprised many economists who had predicted an increase of 0.4 percent for retail sales in June. Analysts said that it is a fresh sign that the U.S. economy is cooling in the second quarter after surging at an annual rate of 5.6 percent in the first three months of this year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. consumer spending totaled 363.8 billion dollars in June and still marked a 5.9 percent increase from the same month in 2005.

Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for two-thirds of total U.S. economic activity and retail sales account for about a half of the consumer spending in the country.

Source: Xinhua