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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Ironically, the great gas price plunge was the worst thing to happen to the US economy since the Polar Vortex:
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The breakdown: a sales decline in 9 out of 13 major categories.
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as The Control Group shows - this is not gas price related.
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Charts: Bloomberg
