Retail Sales headlines, sliced and diced whichever you like, modestly beat expectations. Ex Autos & Gas, retail sales rose 0.6% against an expectation of a 0.4% rise as falling gas prices provided some support for sales. However, more troubling for the US economy is the 1.6% tumble in 'electronics and appliances stores' sales. This is the biggest MoM drop since Dec 2013. The big question is "are iPhones part of the 'electronics and appliances stores' category?"
Headline beast as the gains and losses continue to flip-flop...
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The retail "control group" that plugs into the GDP number saw a 0.5% increase, just above the 0.4% expected, and up from an upward revised 0.0% in September.
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But Electronics tumbled...
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By the most MoM since Dec 2013...
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Charts: Bloomberg
