Canadian retail sales grew by 2.5% in December from November at C$69.59 billion ($49.05 billion), led by increased sales at food and beverage retailers, as well as motor vehicle and parts dealers, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in January, dropping a seasonally adjusted 0.9% from December to $723.9 billion, the Commerce Department said. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a drop of 0.

Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers—were up 2.5% in December.

Canada's retail sales in December grew by a robust 2.5% on a monthly basis, beating analysts' expectations, as a sales tax holiday bumped up spending on food and beverages and people also bought cars and vehicle parts,

Increasing retail sales in January and improving consumer confidence in February could point towards more optimism in the UK economy, however, concerns persist about slow economic growth and the threat of US tariffs.

The pound edged up on Friday after data showed UK consumer spending picked up much more sharply than expected in January, but was weaker in the key shopping month of December than initially thought.

Retail sales were up by 2.5 per cent to $69.6 billion in December, led by increases at food and beverage retailers, Statistics Canada said Friday. All nine subsectors had an increase in sales for the month.

Retail sales in Canada decreased 0.40% in January over the previous month. Retail sales increased 2.5% to $69.6 billion in December.  Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers—were up 2.