Retail sales
Definition · Level 7 · Futures, rates & macro
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Monthly Census Bureau report of consumer spending at stores, restaurants and online sellers, in nominal dollars, m/m. The control group (ex autos, gas, building materials and food services) feeds GDP estimates.
Example
−0.8% m/m vs +0.3% expected: weak consumer, yields fall.
Rules and market figures change: check the current ones before relying on this.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 7 · Futures, rates & macro, in the lesson “Macro data & market reaction”: The key US releases, what hot and cool prints mean, and why good news can hurt stocks.
Related terms
- Core CPIConsumer price index excluding food and energy: the monthly BLS inflation measure traders watch most, reported m/m and y/y.
- DeflationA sustained fall in the general price level (negative CPI y/y).
- GDPGross domestic product: the total value of goods and services an economy produces.
- Good news is bad newsMarket regime where strong economic data hurts stocks because it implies higher rates for longer: higher yields and discount rates outweigh the…
- Hot printA data release stronger or more inflationary than consensus (the median forecast).
- InflationA sustained rise in the general price level, eroding the purchasing power of money and of fixed coupons.