Fed leaves monetary policy unchanged as retail sales slow

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting ended relatively uneventfully on Tuesday, the FOMC deciding not to take new action.

“The economy has been expanding moderately, notwithstanding some apparent slowing in global growth,” the FOMC said in its statement following the meeting.

That expansion looked a little shakier on Tuesday though after the latest report on US retail sales showed only a 0.2 percent increase in November, the smallest in five months. Furthermore, that increase is before taking into account inflation.

Having said that, inflation has become less of a concern these days. Even the UK is finally seeing a decline in its inflation rate, which fell for a second consecutive month in November to 4.8 percent from 5.0 percent in October.