Retail sales bounced back from April, which featured a 0.2% decline, while also increasing 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. However, with cars and gas excluded, the retail sales actually decreased by 0.1% in May compared to an estimated 0.4% jump.

The gas contributed to the overall weaker increase as sales at gasoline pumps declined by 2.2% compared to April. Furniture sales were 1.1% down, while specialty store sales increased by 2.8%.

The most recent slowdown in retail sales is showing that consumers are continuing to feel the pressure of inflation and high interest rates that have caused rising prices.  

“Consumer spending is slowing because real incomes growth is moderating and because some consumers are becoming credit constrained amid elevated interest rates and rising credit card utilization,” Michael Pearce, deputy Chief US economist at Oxford Economics, told clients in a note shared by Yahoo Finance.

Some relief might be coming later this year as promising inflation data could lead to cuts in interest rates. The Federal Reserve announced last week that it plans one rate cut in 2024 although economy experts say that two cuts are real possibility.

The post Retail Sales in the U.S. See Weaker Increase Than Expected appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

U.S. retail sales have spiked each month since January, including a 0.7 percent (revised from 0.9 percent) increase to $674.7 billion in April. The trend was expected to continue in May, but Americans surprisingly decided to operate on a tighter budget and spend $672.9 billion.

The decline can be attributed to fears concerning surging inflation as well as soaring gasoline prices that have taken the nation by storm. The average gas price managed to stay below $5 per gallon last week, but that mark has been breached this week and currently stands at $5.014.

It was actually the slow demand for car purchases that contributed the most to the drop in retail sales. The data shows that sales of vehicles and car parts have been down 3.5 percent from April. Excluding the automotive sector, retail sales actually increased by 0.5 percent in May.

On the other hand, spending at the gas stations saw a big jump of around four percent, but some of it was due to an increase in gas prices. Grocery stores and department stores saw their sales increase by 1.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The post Commerce Department Reports Unexpected Drop in Retail Sales appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Retail sales bounced back from April, which featured a 0.2% decline, while also increasing 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. However, with cars and gas excluded, the retail sales actually decreased by 0.1% in May compared to an estimated 0.4% jump.

The gas contributed to the overall weaker increase as sales at gasoline pumps declined by 2.2% compared to April. Furniture sales were 1.1% down, while specialty store sales increased by 2.8%.

The most recent slowdown in retail sales is showing that consumers are continuing to feel the pressure of inflation and high interest rates that have caused rising prices.  

“Consumer spending is slowing because real incomes growth is moderating and because some consumers are becoming credit constrained amid elevated interest rates and rising credit card utilization,” Michael Pearce, deputy Chief US economist at Oxford Economics, told clients in a note shared by Yahoo Finance.

Some relief might be coming later this year as promising inflation data could lead to cuts in interest rates. The Federal Reserve announced last week that it plans one rate cut in 2024 although economy experts say that two cuts are real possibility.

The post Retail Sales in the U.S. See Weaker Increase Than Expected appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

U.S. retail sales have spiked each month since January, including a 0.7 percent (revised from 0.9 percent) increase to $674.7 billion in April. The trend was expected to continue in May, but Americans surprisingly decided to operate on a tighter budget and spend $672.9 billion.

The decline can be attributed to fears concerning surging inflation as well as soaring gasoline prices that have taken the nation by storm. The average gas price managed to stay below $5 per gallon last week, but that mark has been breached this week and currently stands at $5.014.

It was actually the slow demand for car purchases that contributed the most to the drop in retail sales. The data shows that sales of vehicles and car parts have been down 3.5 percent from April. Excluding the automotive sector, retail sales actually increased by 0.5 percent in May.

On the other hand, spending at the gas stations saw a big jump of around four percent, but some of it was due to an increase in gas prices. Grocery stores and department stores saw their sales increase by 1.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The post Commerce Department Reports Unexpected Drop in Retail Sales appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.