May’s retail sales data shaped up largely as expected, falling 1.1% M/M on the back of a 1.4% decline in volumes, offset partly by higher prices.

The auto sector led the slowdown, down 3.6% due to a near-5% drop in new dealership sales - while gasoline and food weighed on results for the third straight month on lower volumes of both vehicle (-2%) and human fuel (booze, -3%).

At a regional level, May’s decline was broad-based…

… but that looks set to reverse course in June, with preliminary estimates suggesting a 1.6% lift versus this print.

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