Retail sales were up in September defying economist predictions, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau…(CB)
- M-O-M: Retail sales increased 0.7% to $625.4 billion in September 2021.
- Y-O-Y: Retail sales were up 13% when compared to the same time last year.
BEAT THE STREET: Economists had projected a decline of 0.2% in September.
Despite a somewhat return to normal, it appears everyone is sticking to their hobbies as sporting goods, hobby, music, and book stores had the best month up 3.7% from August’s numbers.
- General stores had the second best month up 2.0%, followed by gas stations & retailers (+1.8%), apparel (+1.1%), and grocery stores (+0.7%)
On a yearly basis, gas stations had the best year by far with a 38.2% increase year-over-year, follower by bars & restaurants (+29.5%), clothing shops (+22.4%), specialized shops (21.4%), and department stores (+18.9%).
Sven Henrich, founder of Northman Trader, noted on Twitter that all this good economic data is leaving The Fed with very few excuses…
- “With retail sales beating and claims down below 300K the Fed is out of excuses not to taper and actually end QE. There has been no economic reason for it the past 6 months other than to carefully manage markets.”
This is highly promising and quite surprising when last month Gallup had consumer confidence falling to the lowest levels since January and The Confidence Board saw consumer confidence fall for the third month in a row.