US Retail Rebounds in January

RAPAPORT... US retail sales bounced back at the beginning of 2019 after surprisingly slow figures during the December holiday period. Total purchases, excluding automobiles, gasoline andrestaurants, rose 3.6% year on year in January, according to data the NationalRetail Federation (NRF) reported. The three-month average for theNovember-to-January period was up 2.7% versus a year ago. Retail sales increased 0.9% in December, according to government data. The growth was well below forecasts, prompting many industry analysts to question the validity of the figures, citing the partial government shutdown as a potential cause. "Retail sales in December were revised even lower [in the latest update], but thesefigures remain suspect, given the reporting delays," Jack Kleinhenz, the NRF'schief economist, said Monday. "The January rebound further calls into questionthe accuracy and reliability of the December data. The processing of thedelayed data is still unclear, and the volatility of the figures reported isdifficult to explain at this point." Sales at clothing and clothing-accessory stores - thecategory specialty jewelers fall into - rose 2.1% in January, the NRF noted. Total retail sales are expected to grow between 3.8% and4.4% to more than $3.8 trillion in 2019, the NRF predicted. That figure will be spurredby higher wages and a low unemployment rate, which will promote consumerconfidence, the federation observed. The NRF's numbers are based on data from the US Census Bureau,which recorded a 2.3% rise in sales in January, including purchases from autodealers, gas stations and restaurants. Image: Women shopping at a mall. (Shutterstock)