Retail Sales in the United States Lower Than Expected
- Core Retail Sales M/M lower than expected
- Retail Sales M/M lower than anticipated
- Import Prices M/M as anticipated
Early on Friday, retail sales figures of the United States were released. This is a significant insight into how the US economy should perform. The consumer is under the weather as of late, and that of course is crucial when it comes to the US economy, as the consumer makes up over 70% of economic strength.
The announcement
The retail sales numbers came out lower than anticipated, with the Core Retail Sales month over month figure coming out at 0.1%, far less than the expected 0.4% . Furthermore, the Retail Sales month over month was anemic as well, coming in at 0.2% as opposed to the expected 0.5% . This is a very bad set of figures for the United States and should keep the idea of the Federal Reserve waiting on the sidelines fresh in the minds of traders.
That being said, the reaction was somewhat muted, possibly because the trading world is waiting to see whether or not Donald Trump signs the agreement that was formed with China the day before. There are a lot of conflicting reports as to whether or not he has signed it, and of course the Chinese haven’t been forthcoming as to whether or not they are happy with the agricultural purchases. In other words, there is still a lot of uncertainty out there so the fact that the market did not move much due to retail sales isn’t a surprise.
Going forward
Having said that, it’s very likely that we will take a look at some of these larger macroeconomic events as opposed to the typical economic releases, at least in the short term.
In the short term though, it’s all about Brexit being voted in favor of again, and the US/China trade deal or perhaps even the “no deal” that seems to be up in the air right now. Quite frankly, the market is essentially stuck in neutral with people waiting to see what’s going to happen going forward.