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NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2012 – /PRNewswire/ – Despite small improvements in three out of four components, the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index (Index) dipped slightly in December due to a decline in housing prices. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

“Initial unemployment claims continued to decline in December, while real wages benefited from a decrease in energy prices,” explained Carl Steidtmann, Deloitte’s chief economist and author of the monthly Index.  “This positive movement was not substantial enough to offset the continued pressure from the housing market, which has been the most significant drag on the Index for many months.”

The Index, which comprises four components — tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices — fell to 1.86 from a reading of 1.93 the previous month. 

“The New Year brings new demands on retailers,” said Alison Paul, vice chairman and U.S. Retail & Distribution sector leader, Deloitte LLP.  “In addition to a challenging economic climate, shifts in consumer behavior – from price consciousness to technology adoption – will force retailers to find new ways to remain relevant to their customers in 2012.  Retailers should align talent, physical space, processes and technology in a way that moves the in-…………… continues on Sacramento Bee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Petroleum deliveries to the United States in 2011 experienced their second worst year in the past decade, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said. Petroleum deliveries declined 1.2 percent to about 18.9 million barrels per day last year, compared to the prior year.

That decline was the worst in the past decade except for 2008, when the global recession eliminated more than $ 100 from the price of oil per barrel, UPI.com reported.

Part of the reason behind the weakness in petroleum deliveries was slow consumer spending, John Felmy, API chief economist, told the news outlet.

“The weakness in gasoline demand in 2011 reflected the overall weakness in consumer spending,” Felmy stated. “This carried through the year, with retail sales down in December and gasoline demand slipping more than 4 percent for the month.”

The worst month for gas deliveries in 2011 was December. In fact, last month was the worst for total petroleum deliveries in the past 15 years, noted UPI.com During December, only 18.6 million barrels were delivered per day.