A strong rebound in US retail sales suggests last month's sluggish growth was nothing more than an aberration

A strong rebound in US retail sales suggests last month's sluggish growth was nothing more than an aberration. August retail sales increased 0.6% from the prior month, in line with expectations. The July figure was also revised up from unchanged to 0.3%. More importantly, the annual trend in retail spending is showing a robust 5% increase from this time last year. Minus the highly volatile gasoline sales component, the annual increase in spending looks even stronger at 5.7%. As always, an increase in consumption is a good sign for a growing economy. It means consumers are willing to spend more money, have more money to spend, or both. (VIEW LINK)