Retail Sales Crater

More "green shoots" turn brown.

The recovery of the U.S. economy will further be called into question after Friday’s release of May retail sales, which showed a marked decline in the spending habits of consumers.

The Commerce Department said retail sales dropped 1.2% last month, well below the 0.2% increase economists had been expecting. It was the biggest drop since last September’s 2.2% falloff.

Removing sales of autos and gas, sales fell 0.8%.