Following the disproportionate increase in January, U.S. retail sales decreased somewhat in February. Still, the underlying momentum remained robust, indicating that the economy expanded in the first quarter despite rising borrowing costs.
The Commerce Department report on Wednesday, which came on the heels of statistics last week showing good job growth in February, caused economists to raise their GDP growth forecasts for this quarter, reported Reuters.
The inflation report was slightly promising. Last month, producer prices decreased, resulting in the lowest year-on-year increase in nearly two years.
Last month, retail sales fell 0.4%. However, according to revised data, retail sales for January increased by 3.2% compared to the previously reported 3.0%.
Ariel Ben Solomon is the Growth and Strategy manager at Ecomhunt. He is the host of the Ecomhunt Podcast. Can be followed on Twitter at @ArielBenSolomon
