US retail sales rocket in January

Retail sales volumes in the US shot higher last month with across the board strength in all categories.

According to the Department of Commerce, retail sales volumes surged at a month-on-month pace of 5.3% in January to reach $509.8bn in seasonally adjusted terms.

That was far better than the 0.8% rise which the analyst consensus had penciled-in.

In turn, that pushed the year-on-year rate of growth in retail sales up to 7.4%.

Sales of furniture and electronic goods were strongest, rising by 12.0% and 14.7% month-on-month, respectively.

Building materials suppliers meanwhile registered a big 4.6% rise, as did fashion outlets, with sales at the latter 5.0% higher.

Sporting goods stores saw sales jump by 8.0% while those of non-store retailers surged by 11.0%.

Retail sales volumes for December were revised a tad lower, from a preliminary reading of -0.7% to -1.0%.