US July retail sales report highlights

Highlights of the July US retail sales report:

• Retail sales +0.6% vs +0.6% expected
• Prior -0.3% (unrevised)
• Ex-autos +0.4% vs +0.4% expected
• Prior -0.1% (revised to +0.4%)
• Ex-autos and gas +0.4% vs +0.4% expected
• Prior -0.2% (revised to +0.2%)
• Ex-autos, gas and building supplies (core) +0.3% vs +0.5% expected
• Prior -0.1% (revised to +0.2%)

The story is the revisions. The headlines are a touch soft but factoring in the revisions, it's a slightly stronger report than anticipated. It's good news for the US dollar.

Core sales (the control group) has been in steadily expanding territory since March