New economic data released today, showing retail sales have climbed in February to a five-month high. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1% to $407.8 billion.The rise is from an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in January. Excluding autos, retail sales advanced 0.9% last month adding to January’s upwardly revised 1.1% gain.This data comes before a Federal Reserve policy meeting and subsequent statement which is expected at 2:15 pm. Even with these numbers, economists still aren’t anticipating any extreme shifts in policy.
