US Retail Sales Grow Less than Expected

Monthly retail sales in the USA rose 0.6% in February, which was 0.2 p.p. below analysts’ expectations, who were betting on a 0.8% increase. In addition, retail sales results were revised downward in January, which instead of a 0.8% contraction, fell 1.1% from December 2023.

Retail sales are monthly estimates of all items sold by retailers, which are analyzed on a sample basis by both retail outlet and type of item sold. It is an important indicator of consumer spending that also correlates with consumer confidence and can be seen as an indicator of growth or decline in the US economy. Data that exceeds economists’ forecasts is traditionally interpreted as “positive or speculative to the upside” for the US dollar, while lower than expected values – as in the case of retail sales for February 2024 – should be interpreted as “negative or speculative to the downside” for the “wooden” currency.