Are consumers pausing?

New retail figures for February arrived this morning. Up a seasonally adjusted 0.6%, but under by most estimates. 

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Data for Pi Day
Welcome to the Know the Difference Minute for Thursday, March 14th.
When it comes to GDP, or gross domestic product, consumers carry the ball. Quite a bit. Like, 70%. That’s why retail sales figures are closely watched for spending trends. It’s key data.
New retail figures for February arrived this morning. Up a seasonally adjusted 0.6%, but under by most estimates.
Americans might finally be close to spending down pandemic savings. They’re absolutely stretched by inflation. Plus, for those who were in full-on YOLO mode, those credit card bills eventually must be paid.
GDP is the scorecard that most use to sniff out recessions. We’re not close.
Another data point arrived today—and on the heels of Tuesday’s hot inflation report. The producer price index, which measures costs for raw, intermediate, and finished goods, jumped 0.6% on the month, double the Dow Jones estimate.
I’m Dave Spano from Annex Wealth Management. That is your Know the Difference Minute.