At best, November retail sales will eke out a small gain, and we would not be at all surprised if the numbers were to dip a bit.
A big headline drop was always in the cards after the weather-assisted surge in January, which hugely boosted retail activity.
Eventually, the housing slowdown will affect retail sales too, but that is probably a story for the spring of next year, at the earliest.
This hugely strong report will doubtless be cited as evidence that the housing market is not slowing. However, the extremely warm January weather surely distorted these data, just as it boosted retail sales and depressed industrial production.