June Retail Sales Report Due July 16: Pre-Release Data Points to 9.41% Annual Gain

The Census Bureau releases June 2026 retail sales at 8:30 a.m. EDT on July 16. The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor — a card-transaction proxy — showed core sales up 9.41% year-over-year and 0.36% month-over-month. With June CPI showing inflation easing post-Iran-war surge, the key question: are nominal gains real consumption growth or just higher prices?