NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Consumers pulled back on their spending in December despite the holiday shopping season, according to a government report released Thursday.

The Commerce Department report showed that overall retail sales rose only 0.1% compared to November — falling short of forecasts of economists surveyed by Briefing.com, who were expecting a 0.4% rise. Excluding auto sales, which were relatively strong in the month, sales fell 0.2%; compared to forecasts of a 0.3% rise.  Read more