US October retail sales exceed expectations, but economists remain cautious about the report

On November 15, U.S. retail sales for October were better than expected, providing additional assurance about the health of American consumers before entering the important holiday season. Scott Helfstein, Director of Investment Strategy at Global X, believes that this data may be more valuable to the Federal Reserve and investors than the CPI announced on Wednesday: "In a slightly weak labor market, consumer health is a key issue for the upcoming earnings season and possible tariff increases." However, some economists are concerned that October sales slowed down more than expected. Aditya Bhave, an economist at Bank of America said that due to reduced discretionary spending in states affected by Hurricane Milton and unfavorable seasonal adjustments, retail sales might have actually declined. A team led by Citibank economist Gisela Hoxha also took a cautious stance on this report and pointed out that consumption in certain retail categories fell by 1.65% from last month according to Citibank's credit card data for October; they believe this indicates milder consumption will be reflected in reports. Hoxha wrote: "We still expect weakening labor markets over the next few months which will drag down consumption."