US retail sales up in January; Omicron “no fear for consumers”

Summary:  US retail sales up 3.8% in January; rise greater than 1.8% gain expected; Omicron wave “no fear for consumers”; evidence points “to strong underlying demand conditions, inflation”; rises in eight of twelve retail categories; “non-store” segment” the largest single influence, rises 14.3%. US retail sales had been trending up since late 2015 but, commencing in late 2018, a series of weak or negative monthly results led to a drop-off...

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