8:30a Retail Sales
Retail Sales - M/M 0.9% actual vs 0.5% prior
Ex-Vehicles - M/M 0.6% actual vs 1.1% prior
Ex-Vehicles & Gas - M/M 1.0% actual vs 0.2% prior
Consensus Outlook
Retail sales in March came in very near expectations, rising 0.5 percent overall and 1.1 percent excluding vehicles. Though when also excluding sales at gasoline stations, which were highly inflated due to March's jump in fuel prices, sales managed only a 0.2 percent gain. April expectations are a strong 0.8 percent gain overall, a moderate 0.4 gain excluding vehicles, and a 0.6 percent rise when also excluding gasoline.
Definition
Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell merchandise and related services to final consumers. Sales are by retail and food services stores. Data are collected from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Essentially, retail sales cover the durables and nondurables portions of consumer spending. Consumer spending typically accounts for about two-thirds of GDP and is therefore a key element in economic growth. Of special attention is the control group; this is an input into the consumer spending component of GDP and excludes food services, autos, gasoline and building materials.
Dan 
