Retail sales in the United States went up by 0.7 percent month-on-month to $724.6 billion in November, slightly exceeding expectations of a 0.6-percent uptick.

“We ultimately expect this will be a decent holiday sales season for retailers,” Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo, said in a note to clients as quoted by the Associated Press. “It’s not going to knock anyone’s socks off in the wake of record pandemic gains, but continued consumer momentum means it’s unlikely to be overly weak either.”

The latest figure accelerated from an upwardly revised 0.5-percent rise in October. The largest monthly hikes were seen in sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers with 2.6 percent and non-store retailers with 1.8%.

In contrast, sales fell the most at miscellaneous store retailers with 3.5 percent in November. On an annual basis, retail sales rose 3.8 percent in November.

"Total sales for the September through November period were up 2.9% from the same period a year ago," the Commerce Department said in a statement as quoted by Anadolu.

The gains indicate that consumer demand remains high in the world's largest economy.

Meanwhile, industrial production in the US unexpectedly dropped 0.1 percent from the prior month in November, bucking market expectations of a 0.2-percent hike.

ANADOLU PHOTO