US September Retail Sales Growth Slows to 0.2%
Official data shows September retail sales rose less than expected, while the control group recorded a decline.
Summary
US retail sales in September rose 0.2% month-on-month, below the forecasted 0.4% and August's revised 0.6%. Core retail sales increased 0.3%, in line with expectations after the prior month's figure was revised from 0.7% to 0.6%. The retail sales control group, used to estimate GDP components, fell 0.1% against an anticipated 0.3% increase.
Terms & Concepts
- Core Retail Sales: Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services, providing a clearer measure of consumer spending trends.
- Retail Sales Control Group: A subset of retail sales data excluding certain volatile components, used by economists to estimate GDP growth.
- Month-on-Month Rate: A metric showing percentage change in a statistic compared to the previous month.