US retail sales posted a solid upside surprise in November. Headline sales rose 0.6% mom to USD 735.9B, beating expectations of a 0.4% increase.
The gains were broad-based. Sales excluding autos increased 0.5% mom to USD 597.2B, also above forecasts of 0.4%. Sales excluding gasoline climbed 0.6% mom to USD 683.0B. The data suggests that underlying consumption momentum remains intact rather than being driven by volatile components.
On a quarterly basis, total retail sales for the September–November period were up 3.6% from a year earlier.
