US Retail Sales decline by 0.8% in January vs. -0.1% expected

• Retail Sales in the US declined at a stronger pace than expected in January.
• US Dollar Index stays in negative territory below 104.50 after the data.

Retail Sales in the US declined by 0.8% to $700.3 billion in January, the US Census Bureau reported on Thursday. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation for a decrease of 0.1%. Retail Sales ex Autos contracted by 0.6% in the same period.

“Total sales for the November 2023 through January 2024 period were up 3.1% (±0.5 percent) from the same period a year ago,” the publication read. “The November 2023 to December 2023 percent change was revised from up 0.6% (±0.5 percent) to up 0.4% (±0.3 percent).”

Market reaction

The US Dollar came under modest selling pressure following the disappointing data. At the time of press, the US Dollar Index was down 0.3% on the day at 104.40.