US March Retail Sales Increase 1.4%, Exceeding Expectations

U.S. retail sales in March recorded a slightly higher growth rate than market expectations.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 16th (local time) that March retail sales increased by 1.4% from the previous month to $734.9 billion. This slightly exceeded the market forecast of 1.3%.

Compared to the same month last year, it increased by 4.6%.

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.