🚨 RETAIL ALERT: Consumer Spending Stagnates! 📉🛒 The latest data just dropped, and the US consumer is pulling back faster than expected! ⚠️ Retail sales came in flat (0.0%) for December, missing the forecasted 0.4% increase entirely. This brings a lackluster end to the holiday shopping season and raises serious questions about economic momentum heading into 2026. Key Takeaways: 🛑 Major Miss: Actual sales stalled at 0.0%, significantly underperforming both forecasts and the previous month's 0.6% gain. 👕 Broad Declines: Sales dropped across major categories, including furniture (-0.9%), electronics (-0.4%), and clothing (-0.7%). 🏦 Fed Pressure: This weak data is reinforcing the case for the Federal Reserve to consider rate cuts sooner to support a tempering consumer. 🎯 The Play: The economy is testing its resilience. With "control group" sales (used to calculate GDP) falling 0.1%, we could see trimmed GDP estimates and increased volatility in both the USD and equities. 👇 Is the US consumer finally breaking? 📉 Bearish: Spending slowdown means recession risk. 🛡️ Defensive: Pivoting to utilities/staples. 📈 Bullish: Rate cuts are now inevitable. Appreciate everyone taking the time to read my insights! 💡 If you find this useful, sharing it with your network helps grow our community of informed traders. Trying to get this market breakdown in front of as many eyes as possible to help fellow investors navigate this volatility. If you think this can help someone else, a like, comment, and repost is hugely appreciated! 🙏Follow me😊,like♥️, share and repost🔁 #USRetailSalesMissForecast