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<\/p>\nOn 14 February 2019, a month behind schedule because of the federal government shutdown, the Census Bureau published December\u2019s US retail sales report. Markets were astonished as, instead of rising, headline retail sales fell 1.2% and the core retail sales figure, which strips out food services, cars, petrol and building materials and is considered to be a better trend indicator, plunged 1.7%. The falls are the steepest since December 2009 and September 2001.<\/p>\n
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OUR ANALYSIS<\/b><\/p>\n
This spectacular fall in retail sales is certainly more to do with the combined effects of faltering stock markets in December and the 35-day partial shutdown than any real weakness in domestic demand, which is underpinned by resilient fundamentals. Job creations are robust, salaries are rising steadily, and both these factors should buoy consumption in the months ahead. However, while the fall needs to be put into perspective, it will weigh on US fourth-quarter growth, which is currently estimated at approximately 2%.<\/p>\n
The opinion expressed above is dated February 14, 2019, and liable to change<\/em><\/p>\n This document is not pre-contractual or contractual in nature. It is provided for information purposes. The analyses and descriptions contained in this document shall not be interpreted as being advice or recommendations on the part of Lazard Fr\u00e8res Gestion SAS. This document does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or sell, nor an encouragement to invest. This document is the intellectual property of Lazard Fr\u00e8res Gestion SAS.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chart of the week On 14 February 2019, a month behind schedule because of the federal government shutdown, the Census… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101016,"featured_media":10017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chart-of-the-week"],"yoast_head":"\n