Bank of America economist Shruti Mishra said extreme weather, including the Los Angeles wildfires and the southern blizzard, has dragged down US consumer spending. According to Bank of America's credit card data, the spending per household in January fell 0.4% compared to December last year. Mishra wrote, “The impact of the surge in commodity spending in the fourth quarter poses a potential headwind, but we think this may gradually unfold over a few months rather than all at once.” “As long as the labor market continues to generate steady real income growth and households' balance sheets stay healthy, the impact may simply shift from goods to services rather than slow down completely.” Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, said, “Weak retail sales data may ease some market concerns and give the stock market an opportunity to regain momentum.”

Bank of America economist Shruti Mishra said extreme weather, including the Los Angeles wildfires and the southern blizzard, has dragged down US consumer spending. According to Bank of America's credit card data, the spending per household in January fell 0.4% compared to December last year. Mishra wrote, “The impact of the surge in commodity spending in the fourth quarter poses a potential headwind, but we think this may gradually unfold over a few months rather than all at once.” “As long as the labor market continues to generate steady real income growth and households' balance sheets stay healthy, the impact may simply shift from goods to services rather than slow down completely.” Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, said, “Weak retail sales data may ease some market concerns and give the stock market an opportunity to regain momentum.”