Separate data showed Japan’s jobless rate fell to 2.5% in November and down from 2.6% in October.

“Inflation altered the way U.S. consumers approached their holiday shopping – from hunting for the best deals to making trade-offs that stretched gift-giving budgets.”

From January to November, the total retail sales of consumer goods were 399.190 billion yuan, down 0.1% year-on-year.