This Morning's Retail Sales
ECO - Retail sales rose 0.4% in July after a
0.3% decline in June, a little weaker than expected. The volatility in the
headline number is driven by auto sales which fell in June and rose in July.
The July number was also boosted by higher gas prices. However the details of
the report are weaker than the headline suggests. Core retail sales, which
strips out autos, gasoline and building material stores, fell 0.1% in July and
have declined in three of the last four months leaving the 3-month annulized
growth rate at -0.5%--the first decline on this basis since July of last year.
Sales of electronics, sporting goods, clothing and furniture all registered
decline in July. The combination of a modest gain in auto sales and a decline
in other discretionary items suggests a very modest gain in consumer spending
in the first month of Q3. Consumers are not in full retrenchment but continue
to exercise considerable caution in allocating their purchasing power.
Comments from Senior Economist at BNP Paribas
0.3% decline in June, a little weaker than expected. The volatility in the
headline number is driven by auto sales which fell in June and rose in July.
The July number was also boosted by higher gas prices. However the details of
the report are weaker than the headline suggests. Core retail sales, which
strips out autos, gasoline and building material stores, fell 0.1% in July and
have declined in three of the last four months leaving the 3-month annulized
growth rate at -0.5%--the first decline on this basis since July of last year.
Sales of electronics, sporting goods, clothing and furniture all registered
decline in July. The combination of a modest gain in auto sales and a decline
in other discretionary items suggests a very modest gain in consumer spending
in the first month of Q3. Consumers are not in full retrenchment but continue
to exercise considerable caution in allocating their purchasing power.
Comments from Senior Economist at BNP Paribas
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© 2012 Created by Maulik Mody.
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