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Economy in Brief
U.S. CPI Unchanged in July with Drop in Energy Prices
Consumer prices were unchanged in July after an outsized 1.3% m/m jump in June...
U.S. Federal Government Budget Deficit Shrinks in July
The U.S. Treasury Department reported a federal budget deficit of $211.1 billion in July...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose Slightly in the Latest Week
Mortgage applications increased 0.2% (-62.9% y/y) from one week earlier...
German Inflation Rises
The German inflation rate as measured by the HICP accelerated to 8.4% in July...
U.S. Productivity Declines in Q2, Pushing Unit Labor Costs Higher
Nonfarm business sector productivity fell 4.6% (AR) during Q2'22...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller February 14, 2007
In January, US retail sales slipped marginally after a December gain that was revised up to 1.2% from 0.9% reported initially. The figure for last month fell short of Consensus expectations for a modest 0.3% rise.
Excluding autos, retail sales added 0.3% to an upwardly revised 1.3% December gain, revised from 1.0%.
Sales by motor vehicle & parts dealers reversed all of the December increase with a 1.3% (-1.7% y/y) decline, helped by a 0.1% slip in new unit vehicle sales.
Gasoline service station sales fell 0.7% after the 3.6% jump during December reflecting the 3.2% drop in gasoline prices to an average $2.24 per gallon.
Nonauto retail sales less gasoline rose 0.5% (4.3% y/y) last month after an upwardly revised 1.0% spurt during December.
Sales of discretionary items were generally firm last month. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 1.3% (5.6% y/y) after an upwardly revised 1.2% December increase.Apparel store sales also were firm with a 1.0% (4.6% y/y) after a December spurt that was about doubled to 1.1%. Furniture, home furnishings & appliance stores, however, slipped after a December increase that was halved to 0.8%. The huge December gain in sales at electronics & appliance stores was lowered to 1.8% from 3.0%, then sales fell 1.2% last month.
Building material sales rose 0.8% (-3.1% y/y) after a very much upwardly revised 0.7% December increase. Sales of nonstore retailers (internet & catalogue) rose a moderate 0.5% (8.4% y/y) but restaurant and bar sales fell 0.7% (5.3% y/y) after a firm December gain that was upwardly revised a 3.1%.
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's Senate Testimony, The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, can be found here.
January | December | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Sales & Food Services | -0.0% | 1.2% | 2.3% | 6.3% | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Excluding Autos | 0.3% | 1.3% | 3.4% | 7.5% | 8.3% | 7.2% |