Retail sales, prices fall in October

After three straight months of gains, U.S. retail sales fell in October by about a third of a percent. Retail prices also ticked down last month.

Analysts had expected sales to decline from September levels, which were in part buoyed by the release of the iPhone 5. Furthermore, purchasing slowed at the end of the October as a result of Superstorm Sandy. “People were simply unable to go out an buy things and some stores were closed,” says Gus Faucher senior economist with the PNC Financial Services Group.

Continued weak global demand and low energy costs contributed to falling prices.