A fair amount of economic news out today has mixed implications for the US economy

A fair amount of economic news out today has mixed implications for the US economy. First off, retail sales didn't quite come in as high as expected, but the bigger picture still looks good Retail sales rose 0.3% in May compared to the 0.6% expected by analysts. However, the annual change of 4.3% is still very strong. It's the third straight month of +4% gains in retail sales. Meanwhile, jobless claims ticked up slightly (by 4,000) to 317,000, but once again, the annual trend remains stable at roughly -6%. Basically, with retail sales and jobless claims, there's no cause for concern. On the other hand, the spike in the price of crude oil is something to keep an eye on. A sustained rise in gasoline prices during the summer is certainly not a good thing for the US consumer. (VIEW LINK) (VIEW LINK)