U.S. retail sales rise below expectations in February on sharp upward revisions to January’s print

U.S. retail sales came in softer than market expectations in February. Nevertheless, it was widely countered by significant upward revisions to January’s print, which implies that the momentum in the first quarter consumption spending continues to be in place, noted Barclays in a research report.

Headline retail sales dropped 0.2 percent sequentially in the month of February, as compared with the consensus expectations of a rise of 0.2 percent. The January print was upwardly revised by five-tenths to 0.7 percent. Core sales also dropped 0.2 percent sequentially, led by a widespread fall throughout subcategories, while January’s print was upwardly revised by 0.6 percentage points to 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, non-store retailers’ sales also rose for the second straight month, as were sporting goods and health & personal care sales. Gasoline station sales recovered, consistent with the rebound in energy prices.

At 16:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bullish at 55.4172 more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex