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BOTTOM LINE: Johnson Redbook weekly retail sales rose 2.0% this week versus a 1.0% gain the prior week and up from a .5% gain the week ending March 4th. This is the largest weekly improvement, notwithstanding unseasonably cold/wet weather, since the week ending July 17th of last year and is the largest weekly rise since the week ending Dec. 4th during the holiday shopping season. While this is only one week and sales still remain modestly below the long-term average of 3.0%, it is a noteworthy improvement. The significant drop in weekly retail sales growth during December was one of the first indications that overall economic growth was slowing substantially.
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