For the second month in a row, retail sales declined in March as ‘hard’ data fails to live up to ‘soft’ data’s hype. This is the biggest 2-month tumble in retail sales in over two years.

The full breakdown shows the biggest declines in building materials and motor vehicles.

This drop in sales should not be a total surprise as real average weekly earnings have now failed to rise for 3 straight months.

Two more ‘hard’ data series to add to the list that dismiss the hope embedded in all the soft survey data… but we are sure stocks know better.