Shock drop in U.S. retail sales draws skepticism over data
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So much for a merry Christmas. That is, if you trust the numbers.
Commerce Department figures released Thursday show U.S. retail sales fell 1.2 percent in December from the previous month, the most since 2009, rather than the slight increase economists had forecast. Even more confusing: There was a pullback in a measure based largely on internet sales, which had been expected to be the retailing industry’s saving grace this holiday season.
Some analysts reacted not just with surprise but with an unusually large dose of skepticism. Jim O’Sullivan of High Frequency Economics said the figures were so much weaker than expected “that the data lose credibility,” while Stephen Stanley of Amherst Pierpont Securities said the report “seems seriously out of whack” given mostly upbeat comments from retailers about the Christmas season.
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