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Economy in Brief
Import Prices Continue Their Decline; Both Oil and Nonoil Prices Move Lower
Import prices fell a greater-than-expected 0.5% during January (-1.7% year-on-year)...
Empire State Manufacturing Activity Improves Modestly
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions rose to 8.8 during February...
U.S. Retail Sales Exhibit Extensive Weakness
Total retail sales declined 1.2% (+2.3% y/y) during December...
U.S. Producer Prices Decline; Core PPI Rises
The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index edged down 0.1% for the second consecutive month in January (+2.0% y/y)...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Edge Back Higher
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 239,000 in the week ended February 9...
by Tom Moeller February 14, 2012
Retail sales recovered last month following weak holiday spending. Retail sales rose 0.4% (5.8% y/y) during January after a revised no-change in December, initially reported as a 0.1% uptick. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.7% rise according to Action Economics. January sales were held back by an unexpected decline in auto sales. Nonauto sales rose 0.7% last month after a 0.5% December decline, revised from -0.2%. Consensus expectations had been for a gain of 0.5% in nonauto sales.
Motor vehicle sales fell a surprising 1.1% (+7.3% y/y). It was unexpected since unit motor vehicle sales for January, reported earlier this month, rose 4.6% m/m. Price discounts may have lowered the dollar value of sales. Sales at gasoline service stations rose 1.4% (7.4% y/y). When adjusted by Haver Analytics seasonal factors, gasoline prices rose 0.3% m/m (9.3% y/y). Excluding both autos and gasoline, retail sales rose 0.6% last month (4.7% y/y) after a 0.3% December decline.
Sales at food & beverage stores rose 1.3% (4.3% y/y). Building materials sales ticked up just 0.2% (8.1% y/y) but purchases of other discretionary items again were mixed. Sales of furniture, home furnishings & appliances rose 0.2% (3.3% y/y) following a 1.8% December drop. General merchandise store sales rose 2.0% (5.8% y/y) after December's 0.7% decline. Sales at clothing & accessory stores were unchanged (5.3% y/y) following two months of moderate increase. Sales by nonstore retailers fell 1.1% (+4.9% y/y). Finally, restaurant sales rose 0.6% (8.2% y/y).
The retail sales figure are available in Haver's USECON database. The Action Economics figures are in the AS1REPNA database.
Retail Spending (%) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Retail Sales & Food Services | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 6.4 | -7.0 |
Excluding Autos | 0.7 | -0.5 | 0.2 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 5.7 | -5.5 |
Retail Sales | 0.4 | -0.0 | 0.3 | 5.5 | 7.9 | 6.8 | -7.8 |
Motor Vehicle & Parts | -1.1 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 7.3 | 10.1 | 9.8 | -13.7 |
Retail excluding Autos | 0.7 | -0.7 | 0.2 | 5.1 | 7.4 | 6.1 | -6.3 |
Gasoline Stations | 1.4 | -2.6 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 17.4 | 17.0 | -22.2 |
Non-Auto Less Gasoline | 0.6 | -0.3 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 4.5 | -3.3 |
Food Service | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 8.2 | 5.9 | 2.6 | -0.5 |