Results of the July US retail sales report:
- Prior reading was +0.4% (revised to 0.6%)
- July control group 0.5% vs 0.4% expected (no revisions to prior)
- Ex-autos 0.5% vs 0.4% exp
- Ex-autos and gas 0.4% vs 0% exp (prior revised to 0.0% from -0.1%)
Revisions to prior data make this report stronger than it seems at first blush. Bloomberg threw out a red headline noting that the control group (which includes autos, gas and building materials) was the highest this year, which is true but it says more about softness this year than anything genuinely impressive. In any case, the market follows Bloomberg and the market seemed to be looking for a reason to buy dollars, in any case.
Retail sales control group
