Partly reflecting a steep drop in sales by gas stations, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.5 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in January.
The pullback came as a surprise to economists, who had expected retail sales to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.