Retail sales in the U.S. saw a sharp increase in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said retail sales shot up by 1.4 percent in March after inching up by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected retail sales to jump by 1.3 percent.
"This morning's retail sales came in better than expected, and while normally that would be a good thing for markets, it is very possible that consumers are front-loading their purchases and we may be seeing an artificial bump in sales, which the market will likely look through," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
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Forex News
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.