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U.S. holiday sales growth slowed by more than half this year after gridlock in Washington soured consumers’ moods and Hurricane Sandy disrupted shopping.

Retail sales grew 0.7% through Dec. 24 from Oct. 28, MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse said yesterday, without providing a dollar figure in the billions. Sales grew at a 2% pace in the same period a year ago. SpendingPulse tracks total U.S. sales at stores and online via all payment forms.

Americans became skittish as Washington approached the end of the year without an agreement to forestall higher taxes and automatic spending cuts — the so-called fiscal cliff. And Hurricane Sandy interrupted shopping in stores and online after it slammed into the East Coast in late October.

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