Retail sales destroy expectations as gasoline sales soar

pulse

February 15, 2017 2:13 PM

Retail sales registered a 0.4% gain, well above the 0.1% jump for the month expected by economists.

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US retail sales came in well ahead of expectations for the month of January, according to new data from the Commerce Department.

Additionally, December retail sales were revised up significantly, to 1% growth from the original estimate of 0.6% growth.

A large help came from gasoline sales, as prices continue to increase from the oil crash. Gasoline sales jumped 2.3% in January from December and were up 14.2% from the same month in 2016.

Core retail sales, which do not include auto sales, jumped by 0.8% in January, well above the 0.4% growth expected by economists.

Nonstore retailers, which includes online shopping, also showed continued annual growth in January, growing by 12.0% from the same month a year before but not budging from December.

Retail sales excluding both autos and gasoline also climbed well past expectations, up by 0.7% in January versus a projected gain of 0.3%.

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