Economy: US Retail Sales - Don´t Trust The Headlines

(Drivebycuriosity) - This morning was a lot katzenjammer about the "falling US retail sales". Reuters, Bloomberg, Marketwatch & Co. all lamented about the disappointing numbers from February. "Weak U.S. retail sales highlight risks to economic outlook", claims Reuters (reuters).

Really? The headlines say the retail sales dropped 0.1% last months. Yes, American have to spend more for rents & healthcare, but the numbers are blurred by cheaper gasoline. US consumers spend a lot less at the gas pump which reduces their whole expenditures. Therefore the "real" spending is much better than the media tell you.

Retail sales ex-gasoline were up 0.2% (calculatedrisk ). Compared to February last year retail sales ex-gasoline increased by 4.8% (calculatedrisk ). The screenshots above show the retail sales are growing with a solid speed.

Don`t trust the headlines.