This First Of The Big Four – Retail Sales – Paints A Very Nervous Picture

Month over Month Retail Sales

Retail Sales jumped 0.9% in March, a welcomed return to positive growth after 3 consecutive months of decline.

In December, we saw a decline of 0.9%. In January, a decline of 0.8%. In February a decline of 0.5%.

Overall, the 0.9% jump was the best month-over-month (M/M) Retail Sales figure since March 2014.

Year over Year Retail Sales

Interestingly, the 0.9% M/M growth masked further deceleration on a Y/Y basis.

Retail Sales on a Y/Y basis continued to decelerate in March, coming in at a measly 1.2%.

As shown, the current 1.2% is a far drop from the 5%...