US: Consumer spending disappointing – Danske Bank

Analysts at Danske Bank suggest that the delayed US December retail sales figures released yesterday disappointed significantly, showing the largest monthly fall in the control group since January 2000 (Y2K).

Key Quotes

“In itself the release is very worrying, as the Commerce Department said response rates were at or above the normal level and as there was no immediate explanation from the shutdown (this was the December report) or the weather as online sales were weak.”

“Given retail sales relation to consumer confidence, we find comfort in the recent rebound and expect this retail sales report to be a 'one-off'. However, we intend to monitor this very closely.”