But but but... US retail advanced sales dropped a stunning 0.9% MoM (massively missing expectations of a 0.1% drop). The last time we saw a bigger monthly drop was June 2012. Want to blame lower gas prices - think again... Retail Sales ex Autos and Gas also fell 0.3% (missing an exuberantly hopeful expectation of +0.5% MoM) and the all-important 'Control Group' saw sales fall 0.4% (missing expectations of a 0.4% surge). Boom goes the narrative.
Advance Retail Sales massively missed For Dec.
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The breakdown: a sales decline in 9 out of 13 major categories.
Paraphrasing one of the quotes at ZH: "It was the low gas prices -- the roads and parking lots were so jammed because of the low gas prices that no one was able to get to the shopping malls..."
Front Porch Punditry
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Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:55 pm
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Front Porch Punditry