According to the U.S. Census Bureau, retail sales dropped by 0.8% in January, following a downwardly revised 0.4% gain in December.
While a post-Christmas fizzle sales decrease had been expected by many economists, surveys by Dow Jones speculated a drop of 0.3%, not half as drastic as the 0.8$ reported today. In part to make up for seasonal distortions that probably boosted December’s number. CNBC reported that the pullback was considerably more than anticipated. Even excluding autos, sales dropped 0.6%, well below the estimate for a 0.2% gain.
The disappointing retail sales news comes only two days after the U.S. Dept. of Labor reported that inflation rose 0.3% in January and 0.4% when excluding food and energy prices.
