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HERE COMES RETAIL SALES...

Matthew BoeslerMar 13, 2014, 17:29 IST

Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Heads up! We are minutes away from the release of advance February retail sales data, due out at 8:30 AM ET.

The consensus forecast of market economists predicts total sales rose 0.2% in February from the previous month after falling 0.4% in January.

Excluding autos, sales are expected to have risen 0.1% in February after having remained unchanged in January. Excluding both autos and gasoline, sales are expected to have advanced 0.1% in February following January's 0.2% decline.

"If retail sales bounce back, FX investors will have another risk to worry about - the risk that the U.S. economic pick-up raises fears of a backing up of U.S. rates," says Steven Englander, global head of G10 FX strategy at Citi.

"Expectations are for a soft rebound from weak January data ... The risk is that a stronger outcome, even if average by absolute standards, will show more of a recovery than markets are pricing in, as with payrolls."

We will have the full release LIVE at 8:30 AM ET. Click here to refresh for the latest updates »