US February Retail Sales Increase 0.2%...Below Expectations

U.S. retail sales in February recorded a lower growth rate than market expectations.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 17th (local time) that February retail sales amounted to $722.7 billion, an increase of 0.2% compared to the previous month. This is significantly below the expert forecast of a 0.6% increase compiled by Dow Jones.

Compared to the same month last year, sales rose by 3.1%.

The retail sales indicator is a preliminary statistic focused on merchandise sales performance within total consumption and is used as a key indicator to understand the flow of consumption, which is central to the U.S. economy.

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