US retail sales rose by 1.2% month-over-month in August, significantly exceeding the market consensus of 0.8% and marking the largest single-month increase in nearly five months, data released by the US Census Bureau on Wednesday showed. The July data was revised to a 0.5% decline.

A key highlight of the data was the broad-based strength across all categories. Sales in the "control group," which directly feeds into GDP calculations, surged by 1.4% month-over-month, marking its strongest single-month performance in nearly two years. Core retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, also increased by 1.2% month-over-month. Following the data release, the DXY briefly edged lower, spot gold saw a slight uptick, and US Treasury yields showed little fluctuation. Analysts suggest that the robust retail data reinforces consumer support for economic growth, providing a modest boost to risk asset sentiment, despite consumer confidence remaining near historical lows.