Breaking: Retail sales in the United States shrink at a pace that exceeds expectations.

The U.S. Census Bureau has just released data on U.S. retail sales for the month of January, which turned out to be negative as sales contracted at a deeper pace than markets had anticipated. According to the data released on Friday, U.S. retail sales contracted by about 0.9% in January, while markets had expected a contraction of only 0.2%. The previous reading showed a growth of about 0.4% in December, which was revised upward to a growth of 0.7%. Additionally, the core retail sales data came in worse than market expectations, with core retail sales showing a contraction of 0.4% month-on-month in January. This contradicted market forecasts which had predicted a growth of 0.3%, compared to a growth of around 0.4% in December, which was revised upward to a growth rate of 0.7%. The index measures the change in the total value of sales at the retail level. Therefore, this data provides an advance look at consumer spending data, which accounts for most economic activity. Higher-than-expected data positively impacts the movements of the U.S. dollar and vice versa, especially since consumer spending comprises two-thirds of the gross domestic product, making it an important factor for economic growth.