After January's much-heralded rebounded from December's "well it can't be real" plunge, retail sales were expected to continue the rebound in February (albeit at a slower pace) but they did not - disappointing gravely.

Against expectations of a 0.2% rise, headline retail sales dropped 0.2% MoM in February (exaggerated by strong upward revisions) and core retail sales (ex-auto and gas) tumbled 0.6% MoM...

Sales in the "control group" subset, which some analysts view as a cleaner gauge of underlying consumer demand, also fell 0.2%, missing estimates for a gain, after an upwardly revised 1.7% increase in the prior month. The measure excludes food services, car dealers, building-materials stores and gasoline stations.

On a year-over-year basis, retail sales growth slowed to +2.2%...

Seven of 13 major retail categories showed declines...