September retail sales came in stronger than expected as the headline number pulled above pre-pandemic trend: {chart} Core sales were down a notch but remain solidly above trend: {chart} Food and drinking even gained although it still remains depressed: {chart} Aggregate retail sales continued to gain in September despite now two months after the end of enhanced unemployment benefits at the end of July (otherwise known as the fiscal cliff that wasn’t; hey, I am as surprised as anyone else). I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but the fiscal stimulus may have been less important for retail sales than ... (full story)