U.S. Retail Sales Ex Autos MoM
A monthly U.S. Census Bureau indicator tracking retail and food-service sales growth excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers.
Full explanation
U.S. Retail Sales Ex Autos MoM measures the monthly change in retail and food-service sales after removing motor vehicle and parts dealers. It is a cleaner view of consumer spending because vehicle sales can be large, volatile and affected by financing conditions or supply constraints. The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services release and are usually followed on a seasonally adjusted, nominal-dollar basis. Because the measure is in current dollars, it can rise because households bought more, because prices were higher, or because of both.
Why traders watch it
Traders watch this release because it is a timely signal of U.S. consumer demand outside the auto sector, which can influence expectations for GDP growth, inflation pressure and Federal Reserve policy. Surprises can affect the U.S. dollar, Treasury yields, equity-index futures and consumer-sensitive sectors.
Stronger vs weaker outcomes
A stronger-than-expected reading may point to firmer broad retail demand beyond vehicles and could support expectations for resilient growth or stickier inflation. A weaker-than-expected reading may suggest softer household spending, greater price sensitivity or a weaker near-term consumption impulse outside autos.
Typical volatility
High. The series is nominal, so it does not separate price changes from real spending volumes. It can be revised, and it should be read alongside headline retail sales, control-group retail sales, gasoline-station sales and inflation data to understand the source of the move.
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