Weak Retail Numbers = More Fed Pumping

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U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% in June and just 0.1% excluding autos, with both measures well below consensus estimates. The report raises new questions about the strength of the U.S. economy, the health of consumers and the timing of any Federal Reserve ‘tapering.’

First and foremost, the data provide further evidence the U.S. economy wasn’t growing very fast in the second quarter with “a very real possibility that Q2 GDP will be less than 1%” when the next revision is posted on July 31, writes Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG. “The number one takeaway from today’s report is that the consumer was a bit weaker than expected in the second quarter.”

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