After stumbling sideways around unch MoM for 3 months, US retail sales tumbled 0.3% in March (considerably worse than the 0.1% MoM gain expected) confirming BofA’s credit card data as we warned. March’s print is practically the weakest month since Feb 2015 and is unlikely to get much better given the dismally weak start to April, as we noted here. After 3 months of low-base bounce in YoY retail sales, March saw it collapse back to just 1.7% YoY – deep in recession territory.
March Retail Sales plunge…
As Auto Sales collapse 2.1% MoM… which should not surprise since US Auto Sales (SAAR), via WARD’s Automative Group, tumbled 3.5% YoY to end March – the biggest YoY plunge since July 2009 (pre-Cash-for-Clunkers)…
and perhaps just as problematic, Restaurants tumbled 0.8% – where all the hiring has been.
and if you are hopeful about April, Johnson-Redbook reported a 2.8% plunge in Same-Store-Sales – the worst start to an April since 2005.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/20BgJaO Tyler Durden