The news: US retail sales rose 3.1% YoY in February, or 0.2% MoM, according to the US Commerce Department.

• While this marked a slight improvement from January’s 1.2% MoM decline, it fell well short of economists’ expectations for a 0.7% increase.
• The slowdown was especially stark at restaurants and bars, the lone services category in the report. Sales grew just 1.5% YoY and declined 1.5% MoM, signaling that consumers are pulling back on discretionary spending.