US: Retail Sales declined 0.5% in February vs. +0.2% expected

• Monthly Retail Sales in US contracted unexpectedly in February.
• US Dollar Index stretches higher despite uninspiring data.

Retail Sales in the United States declined by 0.5% on a monthly basis in February following January's increase of 0.6%, the data published by the US Census Bureau showed on Tuesday. This reading came in worse than the market expectation for an expansion of 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, Retail Sales rose by 4.9% in the same period. "Total sales for the December 2019 through February 2020 period were up 4.9% from the same period a year ago," the publication further read.

USD reaction

Despite the disappointing data, the US Dollar Index continues to push higher and was last seen adding 1.52% on the day at 99.50.