Retail Sales growth has slowed since the Q1 rebound but June saw a notable surge, with the control group (used for GDP) surging 0.7% MoM (4.6% YoY - the most in a year)

Retail sales were higher for almost everything except:

Electronics and Appliance Stores -0.3%

Gasoline Stations -2.8%

Department Stores -1.1%

With non-store retail sales (Amazon etc.) soaring against the demise of department stores

So, over to you Mr.Powell, the consumer seems very comfortable and is spending... do we really need a rate cut?