U.S. retail sales declined in February, when inclement winter weather settled over large swaths of the country, representing a temporary setback in demand that’s poised to accelerate in coming months.
The 3% decrease in total retail receipts followed an upwardly revised 7.6% surge in January that was the strongest advance in seven months, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.5% drop in February.
