Retail Sales rose 0.6% in August - precisely as expected - with July revised from 0.0% to +0.3% but Ex-Autos the +0.3% growth, which matched the revised July number, was the slowest since January's "harsh weather" impact. The 'control group' (ex food, auto dealers, and building materials) missed expectations at +0.4% vs +0.5% exp slipping to its slowest growth in 3 months. Under the surface it appears the gains in sales are driven mostly by a 1.5% rise in auto sales - as more subprime credit is loaded onto the US consumer.
Ex-Autos, sales slipped to its slowest since January:
[3]
As the headline growth was driven largely by Auto Sales...
[4]
The silver lining is that retail sales rose in virtually all, or 11 of 13, major categories, with just department stores and gas stations seeing a decline:
[5]
Finally, here is the retail sales control group on a Y/Y and M/M basis, which feeds into the GDP calculation:
[6]
So how long until the "harsh snowfall" crushes this fragile growth once again?
