At this point, the only thing they are looking for is a short-term solution that might make things look good up to November. What happens after that is a bridge they’ll cross later.
Presumably that's in dollar terms. That means it's just inflation. Probably on an inflation-adjusted basis, sales were flat.
Retail sales are not adjusted for inflation, thus not strong.
Why would they cut rates when we have inflation?
Gee I wonder why people spent more in December???
Could it be something called Christmas.