Sales at U.S. retailers last month proved much weaker than expected. This comes after a robust quarter in consumer spending.

Retail sales declined by 0.6% in July from June, the Census Bureau reported Friday. Over the last 12 months, however, retail sales were up 5%.

That's compared to the estimates from economists surveyed by FactSet, which called for a rise of 0.1% month over month in July, a bit softer than June's 0.2% growth.

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