Key Points:
- Retail sales, a measure of purchases at stores, restaurants and online, fell 0.4% in February from January after rising 3.2% last month.
- Consensus among economists was a 0.3% decline.
- February’s decrease comes after the largest monthly gain in nearly two years in January, following two consecutive months of declines.
- Excluding autos, retail sales also fell by 0.1% over the month.
- Retail sales are up 6.4% from a year prior while prices remain high, advancing 6.0% from a year earlier.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor retail sales.