Will US retail sales numbers for May surprise markets?

11:41 15 June 2021

US retail sales are the most important macroeconomic reading scheduled for today. One can see that American consumers may have gotten a bit out of breath as consensus does not look as good as in previous months. Of course, the previous data was potentially influenced by the distribution of one-off checks, the increasing base effect and uncertainty about prices. It can be seen that Americans react negatively to excessive increases in prices of, for example, real estate or cars, reducing their purchase plans.

Bloomberg's consensus assumes a decline in retail sales by 0.5% MoM for May, but at the same time an increase by 0.6% MoM for core sales excluding cars. Double base sales, i.e. without cars and fuels, indicate a potential growth of 1.0%. However, not everyone shares this consensus view. Bofa, whose retail model based on credit card spending shows much worse data. It expects a decline in overall sales at 1.4% MoM and sales excluding cars at 1.0% MoM.

Start investing today or test a free demo

Open account Try demo Download mobile app Download mobile app

Scotiabank, on the other hand, says that poor sales, especially of cars, are not necessarily caused by high prices, but simply by insufficient supply. The shortage of chips necessary for car production has also resulted in the limited availability of cars. Scotiabank points to a decline in car sales at the level of 8.2% MoM and points that car prices rose in May by 1.6% MoM.

BofA expectations on today's report. Source: BofA

But how will the market react? The Fed may accept worse data with relief. Moreover, worse data may not necessarily cause the dollar to fall, as more and more institutions expect such a reading. At the same time, worse data should give more comfort to the Fed, so theoretically, we can count on a further decline in yields. However, if today's data does not significantly exceed the market consensus, they should not affect the current Fed's bias.

As one can see, EURUSD is well-priced in the short term, looking at TNOTE's performance. Worse data should lead to increases in TNOTE, which may lead to maintaining the position on the EURUSD. On the other hand, the pair is trading near a very important support, the break of which could push the pair towards  1.20 level. Source: xStation5

This content has been created by XTB S.A. This service is provided by XTB S.A., with its registered office in Warsaw, at Prosta 67, 00-838 Warsaw, Poland, entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) conducted by District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw, XII Commercial Division of the National Court Register under KRS number 0000217580, REGON number 015803782 and Tax Identification Number (NIP) 527-24-43-955, with the fully paid up share capital in the amount of PLN 5.869.181,75. XTB S.A. conducts brokerage activities on the basis of the license granted by Polish Securities and Exchange Commission on 8th November 2005 No. DDM-M-4021-57-1/2005 and is supervised by Polish Supervision Authority.

Back

Join over 1 Million investors from around the world

We use cookies

By clicking “Accept All”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

This group contains cookies that are necessary for our websites to work. They take part in functionalities like language preferences, traffic distribution or keeping user session. They cannot be disabled.

Cookie name
Description
SERVERID
userBranchSymbol Expiration date 17 October 2024
adobe_unique_id Expiration date 16 October 2025
test_cookie Expiration date 1 March 2024
SESSID Expiration date 9 September 2022
__hssc Expiration date 16 October 2024
__cf_bm Expiration date 16 October 2024
intercom-id-iojaybix Expiration date 13 July 2025
intercom-session-iojaybix Expiration date 23 October 2024
xtbCookiesSettings Expiration date 16 October 2025
xtbLanguageSettings Expiration date 16 October 2025
TS5b68a4e1027
countryIsoCode
userPreviousBranchSymbol Expiration date 16 October 2025
TS5b68a4e1027
_cfuvid
intercom-device-id-iojaybix Expiration date 13 July 2025
__cfruid
__cf_bm Expiration date 16 October 2024
__cf_bm Expiration date 16 October 2024
_cfuvid
adobe_unique_id Expiration date 16 October 2025
TS5b68a4e1027
_cfuvid
xtbCookiesSettings Expiration date 16 October 2025
SERVERID
TS5b68a4e1027
__hssc Expiration date 16 October 2024
test_cookie Expiration date 1 March 2024
intercom-id-iojaybix Expiration date 13 July 2025
intercom-session-iojaybix Expiration date 23 October 2024
intercom-device-id-iojaybix Expiration date 13 July 2025
UserMatchHistory Expiration date 31 March 2024
__cf_bm Expiration date 16 October 2024
__cf_bm Expiration date 16 October 2024
__cf_bm Expiration date 16 October 2024

We use tools that let us analyze the usage of our page. Such data lets us improve the user experience of our web service.

Cookie name
Description
_gid Expiration date 9 September 2022
_gat_UA-22576382-1 Expiration date 8 September 2022
_gat_UA-121192761-1 Expiration date 8 September 2022
_ga_CBPL72L2EC Expiration date 16 October 2026
_ga Expiration date 16 October 2026
AnalyticsSyncHistory Expiration date 8 October 2022
af_id Expiration date 31 March 2025
afUserId Expiration date 1 March 2026
af_id Expiration date 1 March 2026
AF_SYNC Expiration date 8 March 2024
__hstc Expiration date 14 April 2025
__hssrc
_vwo_uuid_v2 Expiration date 17 October 2025
_ga_TC79BEJ20L Expiration date 16 October 2026
_vwo_uuid Expiration date 16 October 2025
_vwo_ds Expiration date 15 November 2024
_vwo_sn Expiration date 16 October 2024
_vis_opt_s Expiration date 24 January 2025
_vis_opt_test_cookie
_ga Expiration date 16 October 2026
_ga_CBPL72L2EC Expiration date 16 October 2026
__hstc Expiration date 14 April 2025
__hssrc
_ga_TC79BEJ20L Expiration date 16 October 2026
af_id Expiration date 31 March 2025
afUserId Expiration date 1 March 2026
af_id Expiration date 1 March 2026
AF_SYNC Expiration date 8 March 2024
_gcl_au Expiration date 14 January 2025
AnalyticsSyncHistory Expiration date 31 March 2024
_gcl_au Expiration date 14 January 2025

This group of cookies is used to show you ads of topics that you are interested in. It also lets us monitor our marketing activities, it helps to measure the performance of our ads.

Cookie name
Description
MUID Expiration date 10 November 2025
_omappvp Expiration date 28 September 2035
_omappvs Expiration date 16 October 2024
_uetsid Expiration date 17 October 2024
_uetvid Expiration date 10 November 2025
_fbp Expiration date 14 January 2025
fr Expiration date 7 December 2022
muc_ads Expiration date 16 October 2026
lang
_ttp Expiration date 10 November 2025
_tt_enable_cookie Expiration date 10 November 2025
_ttp Expiration date 10 November 2025
hubspotutk Expiration date 14 April 2025
YSC
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE Expiration date 14 April 2025
hubspotutk Expiration date 14 April 2025
_uetsid Expiration date 17 October 2024
_uetvid Expiration date 10 November 2025
_ttp Expiration date 10 November 2025
MUID Expiration date 10 November 2025
_fbp Expiration date 14 January 2025
_tt_enable_cookie Expiration date 10 November 2025
_ttp Expiration date 10 November 2025
li_sugr Expiration date 30 May 2024
guest_id_marketing Expiration date 16 October 2026
guest_id_ads Expiration date 16 October 2026
guest_id Expiration date 16 October 2026
MSPTC Expiration date 10 November 2025
IDE Expiration date 10 November 2025
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA Expiration date 14 April 2025
guest_id_marketing Expiration date 16 October 2026
guest_id_ads Expiration date 16 October 2026
guest_id Expiration date 16 October 2026
muc_ads Expiration date 16 October 2026
MSPTC Expiration date 10 November 2025
IDE Expiration date 10 November 2025

Cookies from this group store your preferences you gave while using the site, so that they will already be here when you visit the page after some time.

Cookie name
Description
personalization_id Expiration date 16 October 2026
UserMatchHistory Expiration date 8 October 2022
bcookie Expiration date 16 October 2025
lidc Expiration date 17 October 2024
lang
bscookie Expiration date 8 September 2023
li_gc Expiration date 14 April 2025
bcookie Expiration date 16 October 2025
lidc Expiration date 17 October 2024
bscookie Expiration date 1 March 2025
li_gc Expiration date 14 April 2025
personalization_id Expiration date 16 October 2026

This page uses cookies. Cookies are files stored in your browser and are used by most websites to help personalise your web experience. For more information see our Privacy Policy You can manage cookies by clicking "Settings". If you agree to our use of cookies, click "Accept all".

Change region and language
Country of residence
Language