U.S. Retail Sales Edge Up in May; Nonauto Sales Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Disappointing sales follow weakened results in earlier months.
- Nonauto sales slip for second straight month.
- Nonstore sales improvement offsets declines elsewhere.
Total retail sales improved 0.1% (2.3% y/y) during May after falling 0.2% in April, revised from no change, and rising 0.5% in March, revised from 0.6%, according to the Census Bureau. A 0.3% May rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Excluding motor vehicles & parts, retail sales eased 0.1% (+2.5% y/y) in May, the same as in April, revised from a 0.2% gain. Sales rose 0.6% in March, revised from 0.9%. A 0.2% May increase had been expected.
Sales of motor vehicles & parts rose 0.8% (1.3% y/y) last month after falling 0.4% in April and easing 0.1% in March. The rise compared to a 1.0% increase (2.9% y/y) in unit light vehicle sales.
Sales in the retail control group, which excludes autos, building materials, gasoline stations, and food services, rose 0.4% (3.1% y/y) last month following a 0.5% decline in April, revised from a 0.3% fall, and a 0.9% March increase. These sales are used in the construction of personal consumption expenditures in the NIPA accounts.
Gasoline station sales declined 2.2% (+1.6% y/y) in May after a 1.9% rise with a 2.1% decline in gasoline prices, which were up 0.4% y/y. Building materials sales fell 0.8% (-4.3% y/y) after increasing 0.3% in April.
Furniture & home furnishings store sales weakened 1.1% (-6.8% y/y) after a 0.9% rise in April. To the upside, sporting goods, hobby shop, book & music store sales jumped 2.8% (-2.6% y/y), recovering two months of sharp decline. Clothing & accessory store sales added 0.9% (2.4% y/y) to a 1.7% April increase. Nonstore retail sales improved 0.8% (6.8% y/y) after falling 1.8% in April. Electronics & appliance store sales rose 0.4% (1.8% y/y) after a 2.2% April increase. Miscellaneous store sales improved 0.4% (7.3% y/y) after declining 1.6% in April. General merchandise store sales improved 0.1% (2.7% y/y) following a 0.9% April decline. Within this grouping, department store sales held steady (-1.6% y/y) after a 0.3% April rise.
In the nondiscretionary sales categories, food & beverage store sales slipped 0.2% (+1.6% y/y) in May after strengthening 0.7% in April. Health & personal care store sales edged 0.1% higher (-0.7% y/y) after falling in five of the prior six months.
Consumers pared back the inclination to dine out. Restaurant & drinking fell 0.4% in May following a 0.4% April increase. Growth over the last twelve months declined to 3.8% from 10.3% y/y in May of 2023.
Retail Sales data can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figures are from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in AS1REPNA.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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