By Robert Hughes
Retail sales and food services rose 0.2 percent in January following a sharp 1.6 percent decline in December. Over the past year, they are up 2.3 percent, ahead of the 1.6 percent 12-month change through December (see chart). Retail sales and food services have been broadly trending higher since late 2015, when the 12-month change hit a low of 1.8 percent. The 12-month growth hit a recent peak of 6.6 percent in July 2018. The solid gains were consistent with strong consumer fundamentals, including a tight labor market, accelerating hourly earnings growth,