US retail sales fell 0.2 percent in January, according to delayed government data released on Friday, missing some analysts’ expectations amid persistent concerns that consumption is slowing in the world’s largest economy.

Overall sales fell to $733.5 billion on a month-over-month basis, but were up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, US Commerce Department data showed.

The month-on-month figure was a decline from December’s flat growth.

Analysts were downbeat in their expectations, with Briefing.com forecasting 0.1 percent growth. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal had expected a worse performance than had predicted a 0.4 percent decline.

The data showed month-on-month declines in spending across various sectors, notably health and personal care stores (3.0 percent), fuel pumps (2.9 percent) and clothing (1.7 percent).

Auto sales were another significant decline, falling 0.9 percent.

Analysts, however, did not appear overly concerned by the figures, saying subdued consumer activity due to severe weather across the country was a factor.

“We’re not reading too much into the decline in retail sales in January, which was clearly affected by severe winter weather in much of the country,” said Michael Pearce, chief US economist at Oxford Economics.

Pierce pointed to a decline in brick-and-mortar spending that was partially offset by a 1.9 percent increase in sales at nonstore retailers, which include online outlets.

Rising fuel prices due to the US-Israel war over Iran, however, were a concern going forward, with average US gasoline prices up nearly 11 percent over the past week, according to the AAA Gas Price Gauge on Friday.

Pearce warned that rising fuel prices “could add as much as 0.3 (percentage point) to inflation this year, eating into real incomes and spending on other goods and services.”

The US economy received more worrying economic data on Friday, with an unexpected fall in jobs in February and a rise in unemployment.

Nationwide senior economist Ben Ayers, however, expected spending to pick up in February.

“We expect big tax refunds and fiscal stimulus to boost spending activity in the coming months and winter storms are now in the rearview mirror in most parts of the country,” he said.

With US President Donald Trump’s expansive “One Big Beautiful Bill” extending tax breaks from his first term, analysts expect increased tax refunds this year – mostly for middle- and high-income earners.