US retail sales rose 0.6% mom to USD 709.9B in December, above expectation of 0.4% mom. Ex-auto sales rose 0.4% mom to USD 573.4B, above expectation of 0.2% mom. Ex-gasoline sales rose 0.7% mom to USD 656.7B. Ex-auto, gasoline sales rose 0.6% mom to USD 520.2B.