The Dallas Fed Service Sector Outlook Survey General Business Activity index edged down -0.2 pts to 9.6, but the Revenue index increased 2.9 pts to 13.8 in December. This is the 11th straight month of increasing revenues. Almost 60% of firms see revenues increasing in the next 6 months.

Employment was in expansion for the 2nd straight month but to a lesser extent than in November. Input and selling prices both saw higher growth with the respective indexes up 4.8 pts and 5.2 pts to 23.8 and 8.0. The selling price index is now at the highest level since 2023.

Retail sales growth saw a significant increase in December such that firms reported the fastest growth since the end of 2021. The Sales index specifically jumped 12.7 pts to 17.3 with the Companywide Sales index up 11.0 pts to 19.4. Despite that, retail business conditions were weaker than in November, and retail firms’ optimistic outlooks generally weakened.