American Retail sales drop almost 20%…..

Retail sales plunged 16.4 percent in April, a record drop and another reflection of how severely the coronavirus pandemic continues to stifle the U.S. economy.

Data released Friday from the Census Bureau blew past analyst expectations, smashing March’s revised decline of 8.3 percent. Shoppers may continue to hunt for cleaning supplies and other basic pantry items, but consumer spending, which typically drives 70 percent of the nation’s economy, remains largely hollowed out. U.S. stock futures fell off the retail news Friday morning.