U.S. Retail Sales Gain Eases in June
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline & building material sales decline.
- Sale of core goods strengthen.
- Online retail sales surge.
Retail sales rose 0.2% (1.5% y/y) during June following a 0.5% May increase, revised from 0.3%. April’s increase was unrevised at 0.4%. The June gain fell short of expectations for a 0.5% increase in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Sales excluding motor vehicles & parts rose 0.2% (0.6% y/y) after increasing 0.3% in May, revised from 0.1% and 0.3% in April, revised from 0.4%. A June increase of 0.3% in nonauto sales had been expected.
Sales in the retail group, which excludes autos, building materials, gasoline & restaurants rose 0.6% (3.8% y/y) in June following a 0.3% gain in May, revised from 0.2%. Sales increased 0.7% in April.
Last month’s overall sales gain reflected a 1.9% surge (9.4% y/y) in nonstore retail sales which followed s 0.7% gain in May. Furniture store sales also were strong and posted a 1.4% rise (-4.6% y/y) after they fell 0.4% in May. Also showing a firm increase were electronics & appliance store sales which improved 1.1% (0.9% y/y) after a 2.1% May increase. Apparel store sales rose 0.6% (0.7% y/y) after they rose 0.3% in May. Motor vehicle sales increased 0.3% (5.3% y/y) in June after a 1.5% May gain. That compared to a 4.4% rise in unit vehicle sales reported earlier.
Offsetting these gains, gasoline service station sales fell 1.4% in June (-22.7% y/y), the eighth straight month of decline. Building materials sales declined 1.2% (-3.2% y/y) after a 1.4% increase during May.
Also showing weakness were general merchandise store sales which eased 0.1% (+0.5% y/y) after rising 0.3% in May. Within that group, department store sales fell 2.4% (-5.2% y/y) on the heels of a 0.2% gain. Sporting goods, hobby shop, book & music store sales weakened 1.0% last month (-1.3% y/y), the fifth straight month of decline.
In the nondiscretionary sales categories, health & personal care store sales eased 0.1% (+6.3% y/y) after a 0.2% May rise. Food & beverage store sales fell 0.7% last month (+1.3% y/y) after holding steady in May.
Consumer spending at restaurants & drinking places improved 0.1% last month (8.4% y/y) after rising 1.2% in May.
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.
More Economy in Brief
Global
