Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Retail Sales Bounce Back Strong

U.S. retail sales came back strong in January, which is good news for the economy, indicating consumers may still be able to help support economic growth after a dismal end to 2018. But the decline in December was even worse than initially thought, according to a report out yesterday from the Commerce Department.

Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales rebounded 1.1 percent in January.  These so-called core retail sales are considered to correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product.

But the retail data for December was revised down to show sales dropping 1.6 percent instead of falling 1.2 percent, as previously reported. The drop in December was the biggest since September 2009, when the economy was just emerging from recession.


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