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mpc: 14 Overall, it was more difficult than usual to gauge the momentum in consumption growth, though on balance, some pickup in consumption growth in the first quarter seemed likely. Retail sales had fallen 1% in December, and had risen only 0.3% in the fourth quarter, which was weaker than expected. However, it was always difficult to judge the strength of consumption around the Christmas period because of the scale of the seasonal adjustment and the uncertainty about its size. Other indicators were mixed. According to the British Retail Consortium, the value of retail sales had been 3.5% higher in January than a year earlier, compared with 2.5% in December. Yet the CBI Distributive Trades Survey balance had fallen sharply from December to January. The annual growth rate of car registrations in the three months to January had remained at around its weakest since November 2002, with private registrations particularly low. However, consumer confidence had picked up somewhat. According to the contacts of the Bank's Agents, retail sales had indeed slowed in December and a recovery in January had only partly compensated; however, non-retail consumer spending ­ in hotels and restaurants, for instance ­ had continued to be strong.