US Retail Sales: A mixed report - Wells Fargo

Analysts at Wells Fargo, point out that today’s retail sales data came in mixed but core spending remained steady.

Key Quotes: 

“Prior to this morning’s release we already knew that September was a good month for manufacturer sales of autos to dealers. The annualized pace of wholesale auto sales hit 17.4 million, which tied March for the fastest clip in 2018.”

“Bars and restaurants have been outperforming broader retail sales recently. But after four straight monthly gains, this category saw a 1.8% decline. The softness here combined with a 0.8% dip at gas stations help explain the headline miss.”

“Excluding volatile categories like auto, gas and building materials, control group retail sales actually came in a little better than expected, up 0.5% in September.”