The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that sales at U.S.
retailers climbed 3.0 percent m-o-m in January 2023, following an unrevised 1.1
percent m-o-m decrease in December 2022. That marked
the first monthly rise in retail sales in three months.
Economists had expected total sales would climb 1.8 percent m-o-m in January.
According to the report, the January jump in total retail sales was due to gains in 12 of all 13
retail categories, led by food services
and drinking places (+7.2 percent m-o-m), motor vehicle and parts dealers (+5.9 percent
m-o-m), and furniture and home furnishings stores (+4.4 percent m-o-m). The only exception were gasoline stations (0.0 percent m-o-m).
Excluding auto, retail sales also jumped 2.3 percent m-o-m in January after
an upwardly revised 0.9 percent m-o-m drop (from -1.1 percent m-o-m) in the
previous month, being much better than economists’ forecast of a 0.8 percent
m-o-m increase.
In y-o-y terms, U.S. retail sales soared 6.4 percent in January after a
downwardly revised 5.9 percent surge (from +6.0 percent) in the previous month.
That represented the strongest annual increase since October 2022 (+8.0 percent
y-o-y).