Breaking: US Retail Sales slide by 1.9% in December vs. 0.1% expected decline
- Headline Retail Sales dropped 1.9% MoM, larger than the expected 0.1% decline.
- There wasn't any notable reaction in FX markets.
US Retail Sales fell by 1.9% MoM in December, according to data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Friday. That was well below market expectations for a MoM decline of -0.1% and marked a sharp deceleration from November's growth rate of 0.2% (downwardly revised from 0.3%). That meant that the YoY growth rate in retail sales eased to just under 17.0% from 18.24% in November.
Core Retail Sales posted an even larger MoM miss on expectations, dropping 2.3% in December versus forecasts for a 0.2% rise, versus November's 0.1% MoM rise (which was revised lower from 0.3%). The Retail Control, which is more closely correlated to the retail consumption component in US GDP, fell 3.1% MoM versus expectations for a 0.1% gain in December.
Market Reaction
The DXY was a tad choppy but has not seemed to see much of a reaction to the latest Retail Sales report. Despite the poor figures, Retail Sales remain historically elevated on the YoY metrics, having been boosted in Q1 2021 by massive fiscal stimulus.
Author
FXStreet Team
FXStreet
