Solid Spending

After declining 0.25% in December, 0.68% in January, and 0.23% in February, inflation-adjusted retail sales jumped 0.62% in March and are now, solidly back at trend growth. Moreover, because those months are volatile, looking at Y-o-Y growth is preferable. Y-o-Y real retail sales growth troughed in 5/16 and have steadily risen since and are now solid at 2.1%. Low unemployment, good consumer confidence and tax cuts should keep it going.