US retail sales stabilized in August, while the consensus was looking for a slight increase. Also the previous figure was downwardly revised from 0.5% M/M to 0.3% M/M. The details show a mixed picture as sales of motor vehicles and parts (-0.3% M/M), clothing (-0.7% M/M), eating & drinking (-0.3% M/M) and furniture (-0.2% M/M) dropped in August, while sales of electronics (0.5% M/M), sporting goods (2.4% M/M), gasoline stations (0.3% M/M), building materials (0.2% M/M), food & beverages (0.3% M/M) and health & personal care (0.2% M/M) rose in August. Core retail sales, excluding autos & gas, rose marginally (by 0.1% M/M), while an increase by 0.3% M/M was expected. As we already knew, the bleak news in August (debt ceiling, rating downgrade, fears for a new recession), weakened consumer sentiment significantly, which probably encouraged consumers to rein in spending. As unemployment remains unusually high and income growth is weak, consumer spending will probably stay soft in the coming months.