Surprise in Retail Sales Data

Retail chain sales are down 0.5% for the first three weeks of June versus May, according to Redbook Research, but the report is actually a gain of 2.8% from a year ago. What is interesting here is that June and July are considered to be throwaway months in the retail segment, so a drop from May does not tell you the whole story. The difference from a year ago is what matters to us because this is more current data and almost real-time.

We usually skip the report on weekly retail sales data from Redbook Research because they almost never have an impact on the broad market. That may not be the case today, although the stronger than expected report on durable goods in May could keep this report muted. Redbook Research tracks consumer spending habits to retail and same-store sales trends in the United States.

Stocks remain firm, with S&P 500 futures up almost 10 points and DJIA futures up about 70 points.

Filed under: Retail