U.S. retail and food services sales fell 0.6% in July from the previous month to $763.6 billion, marking their first decline in nine months. Sales were still 5.0% higher than a year earlier.

Excluding automobiles, retail sales decreased 0.3% month over month, significantly weaker than economists’ median forecast for a 0.2% increase. Estimates from 63 economists ranged from a decline of 0.5% to an increase of 0.7%.

The retail sales “control group,” which provides a clearer indication of underlying consumer spending, also fell 0.4% from June.

Control-group sales exclude food services, automobile dealers, building-material stores and gasoline stations. The measure is commonly used to estimate the goods-spending component of gross domestic product.

Overall, the report suggests that U.S. consumer spending lost momentum at the beginning of the third quarter.