Send Article via Email

- Sales +0.5 vs +0.2 Consensus
- Excluding Autos +0.3 vs +0.2 Consensus
- Market Reaction: Stocks and Bond yields moved anemically higher in a sort of obligatory nod to the headline, but have since fallen back to or below previous levels. The headline was more bullish than the internals and is being somewhat offset by other data, including a much weaker than expected NY Fed Index.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $415.7 billion, an increase of 0.5 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 4.7 percent (±0.7%) above December 2011. Total sales for the 12 months of 2012 were up 5.2 percent (±0.6%) from 2011. Total sales for the October through December 2012 period were up 4.2 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The October to November 2012 percent change was revised from +0.3 percent (±0.5%)* to +0.4 percent (±0.2%).

Retail trade sales were up 0.4 percent (±0.5%)* from November 2012 and 4.4 percent (±0.8%) above last year. Nonstore retailers were up 12.6 percent (±2.3%) from December 2011 and miscellaneous store retailers were up 9.9 percent (±5.6%) from last year.

More from MND:

• MBS Commentary: MBS RECAP: Big Bounce Higher Ahead of Fed
• Mortgage Rate Watch: Mortgage Rates Slightly Lower Ahead of Fed Minutes, Bernanke
• MND NewsWire: Most Real Estate Investors in CA Plan on Selling Inside 6 Years
• MBS Commentary: MBS MID-DAY: Bond Markets Rallying. Wait... What?
• Pipeline Press: Freddie's Non-Usage Fees; LO Comp, Land Sales, and Reg. E Tidbits - It's a Compliance World

If you would like to opt-out of receiving email forwards from this person please click here to remove your email address.