Growth · USDUsual scheduleLive week from the calendar

US retail sales: release time and what it moves

US Census Bureau. Usually around the middle of the month, for the month before, usually at 8:30 AM New York time. What it is, what traders watch and how the WhitePips rules treat trading around it.

  • Monthlyhow often
  • 8:30 AMNew York time
  • Redusual calendar rating

Retail sales on this week's calendar

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Times in your own time zone and in New York; releases already out are dimmed. Red is high impact, Amber medium; the ratings are the calendar feed's.

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What Retail sales is

US retail sales

Retail sales measure what US shops, online sellers, car dealers and restaurants took in during the month, before adjusting for inflation. Consumer spending is about two-thirds of the US economy, so this is the most timely read on it.

Core retail sales leave out cars, whose sales swing from month to month; the 'control group', which also leaves out petrol stations and building materials, feeds directly into GDP.

When it comes out

Published by
US Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Retail Trade report
How often
Monthly
Usual day
Usually around the middle of the month, for the month before
Usual time
8:30 AM New York; 12:30 UTC while the US is on daylight time (March to November), 13:30 UTC in winter
On the calendar as
Retail Sales m/m, Core Retail Sales m/m
Usual rating
Red

What traders watch

The headline and the core figure

Both are compared with their forecasts; they can disagree.

The control group

The part that goes into GDP, and so the one economists watch.

Revisions

The month before is revised and can change the picture.

On MetaTrader 5Pip value, lots and commission

Symbols Retail sales moves

The WhitePips symbols that usually react most to Retail sales. Each page has the pip or point value, a lot-size example and the commission on every plan.

EURUSDEuro / US dollarUSDJPYUS dollar / Japanese yenGBPUSDBritish pound / US dollarUS500US 500NAS100US Tech 100US2000US Small Cap 2000

Futures on Volumetrica: ESE-mini S&P 500NQE-mini Nasdaq 1006EEuro FX

Trading Rules, section 11In the rules' own words

Trading Retail sales at WhitePips

CFD plans Every plan, every stage

News trading is permitted on every CFD plan. You may open, hold and close positions before, during and after economic releases on every CFD plan, in the evaluation and once funded. There is no restricted window around a release on a CFD account, and no profit is removed because a trade was placed around news.

News straddling is not permitted. On every CFD plan, you may not open straddled, offsetting or hedged exposure on the same or correlated instruments within 15 minutes before or after a scheduled Red or Amber (high or medium impact) economic event, a company earnings release, or a major geopolitical announcement, where the purpose is to capture the volatility of the event rather than to take a view on its outcome. Placing a buy and a sell (or a buy stop and a sell stop) on the same instrument, or opposite positions on correlated instruments such as EURUSD and USDCHF, so that whichever way the price jumps one side profits, is straddling. A single position, or positions in one direction, taken on your own view of the release is not.

Trading Rules, sections 11.1 and 11.2. Each straddle is detected and referred to the risk desk, never penalised automatically.

Futures plans One Step funded, Instant

Futures plans. On the futures plans news trading is permitted during the One Step evaluation. On a funded futures account (One Step funded and Instant) no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release; a position opened before the window may be held through it. Profit from such a trade is removed and the loss stays. The first and second violations are warnings, and the third is referred for compliance review. A news trading violation never ends an account automatically. The releases are those marked as high impact in the economic calendar shown in the dashboard or notified to you.

Trading Rules, section 11.4.

CFD plans: no straddling8:15 AM to 8:45 AM New YorkFunded futures: no trade opened or closed8:28 AM to 8:32 AMRetail sales 8:30 AM
−20 min−15−2+2+15+20 min
A single position taken on your own view, before or after the release, is fine on every CFD plan. On a funded futures account a position opened before the two-minute window may be held through it.

Section 11 of the Trading Rules News trading, explained

QuestionsShort answers

Retail sales: questions

What time is Retail sales released?

Usually at 8:30 AM New York time: 12:30 UTC while the US is on daylight time (March to November), 13:30 UTC in winter. Usually around the middle of the month, for the month before.

How often is Retail sales released?

Monthly. Usually around the middle of the month, for the month before. The exact dates are set by the US Census Bureau; the dashboard's economic calendar shows the coming week.

Can I trade Retail sales on a WhitePips account?

On every CFD plan, yes: news trading is allowed in the evaluation and once funded. What is not allowed is straddling, opening both directions (or offsetting positions on correlated instruments) within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike; the risk desk reviews it. On a funded futures account, no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release.

Which markets move most on Retail sales?

On the WhitePips platforms: EURUSD, USDJPY, GBPUSD, US500, NAS100, and on futures ES, NQ, 6E.

Are retail sales adjusted for inflation?

No. They are in dollars, so higher prices raise them even when people buy the same amount. Compare them with CPI to see what changed in volume.

CFDs and futuresNo time limit

Put the numbers to work

Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. News trading is allowed on every CFD plan.

See the plansTrading calculator