March Retail Sales and Initial Claims.......>

US DATA: March Retail Sales and Initial Claims 

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- March sales above exp after unrevised Feb. March +1.6% vs +1.0% both 

BBG & MNI.

- March sales ex-mtr veh strong +1.2% vs +0.7% BBG & +0.8% MNI.

- Initial claims -5k to 192k in Apr 13 wk vs 205k BBG exp & 206 MNI exp, 

the lowest since the Sep 6, 1969 wk (182k).

- Initial claims -24k from March 16 employment survey week (216k).

- 4-wk moving average -19,250 from March 16 survey week (220,500).

- Feb total sales unrev at -0.2%, Jan rev up to +0.8%. 

- Feb ex-mv sales rev up to -0.2%, Jan +1.4%. 

- March sales ex. mtr veh and gas +0.9%, control group +1.0%

- Vehicle sales +3.1%, gas station sales +3.5%, ex. only gas +1.4%. 

- Claims 4-wk avg -6,000 to 201,250; lowest since Nov 1, 1969 wk; could 

fall next week.

- Q1 consumption tracking moderately for headline, strength in core 

categories. Retail sales +0.2% SAAR vs the Q4 avg, sales ex. mtr veh 

+0.8% SAAR; ex. autos, bldg mat, gas, food services +2.6% SAAR.