Falling retail sales for third straight month add to pressure on Obama

US retail sales fell in June for the third straight month, the longest run of consecutive drops since 2008.

Sales slipped 0.5 per cent, with declines across a wide swath of industries from electronics and cars to building supplies, the commerce department said yesterday.

The report adds to a spate of soft economic data that is raising pressure on President Barack Obama ahead of his November re-election bid. Republican challenger Mitt Romney is focusing his campaign on the weak economy.

The dollar declined against the euro and the yield on 10-year US government bonds dropped to an all-time low as the data stoked worries the economy was floundering and could need Federal Reserve help. – (Reuters)