U.S. retail sales powered higher again last month, Commerce Department data indicated Wednesday, following record spending over the Thanksgiving that suggests solid consumer strength into the final months of the year.
Headline sales rose 0.7% in November to a collective tally of $724.6 billion, the Commerce Department said, well ahead of Wall Street’s consensus forecast of a 0.5% gain. The October reading was revised higher, to a final gain of 0.5%.
The closely tracked control group number, which excludes autos, building materials, office supplies, gas-station sales and tobacco, and feeds into the government’s GDP calculations, rose 0.4% on the month, matching the Wall Street consensus forecast and October’s decline of 0.1%.
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting in Washington armed with
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U.S. stocks extended declines following the data release, as traders bet that the solid spending tally could further pare bets on 2025 rates cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 19 point opening bell decline while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are called 166 points lower. The tech-focused Nasdaq is priced for a 50 point pullback.
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Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were little changed at 4.415% following the data release, while 2-year notes were up 2 basis points to 4.264%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.04% higher at 106.901.
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The CME Group’s FedWatch suggests the odds of a December cut are holding at 97%, although bets on follow-on cuts into 2025 have pared to just two.
Last week, the Commerce Department said its headline Consumer Price Index for November was pegged at an annual rate of 2.7%, accelerating from the 2.6% pace recorded in October and reaching the highest level since July.
So-called core inflation, which strips out volatile components like food and energy, held at an annual rate of 3.3%, matching Wall Street’s forecast and pegged at the lowest rate in more three years.
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