Global| May 15 2012U.S. Retail Sales Strength Pulls Back
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Consumers lost their inclination to spend last month. Following four consecutive months of firm increase, retail sales ticked just 0.1% higher during April. That followed little-revised increases of 0.7% and 1.1% in March and [...]
Consumers lost their inclination to spend last month. Following four consecutive months of firm increase, retail sales ticked just 0.1% higher during April. That followed little-revised increases of 0.7% and 1.1% in March and February, respectively. The latest uptick roughly matched Consensus expectations for a 0.2% rise according to Action Economics. Three-month growth in spending held firm at 7.7% (AR). Outlays on motor vehicles picked up slightly to 0.5% (8.4% y/y) while lower prices lessened gasoline purchases by 0.3% (+5.5% y/y) following three months of strong increase. Excluding autos and gasoline, retail sales nudged up 0.1% (5.5% y/y).
Weakness in spending last month was led by a 1.8% decline (+10.3% y/y) in building materials purchases. Sales of clothing also fell 0.7% (+5.4% y/y) after a 0.1% March slip and general merchandise sales ticked 0.1% (+2.6% y/y) lower. Some of this weakness was offset by a 0.5% gain (4.5% y/y) in furniture & appliances. Furniture store sales rose 0.7% (7.6% y/y) and appliance & electronics purchases gained 0.2% (1.7% y/y). Food & beverages store sales rose 0.3% (3.2% y/y) and sales of health & personal care stores increased 0.6% (4.4% y/y). Sales of food services and drinking places gained 0.4% (8.6% y/y).
The retail sales figure are available in Haver's USECON database. The Action Economics figures are in the AS1REPNA database.
| Retail Spending (%) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Retail Sales & Food Services | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 5.5 | -7.1 |
| Excluding Autos | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 4.5 | -5.7 |
| Retail Sales | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 6.1 | 8.2 | 5.8 | -7.9 |
| Motor Vehicle & Parts | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 8.4 | 10.8 | 10.8 | -13.9 |
| Retail excluding Autos | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 4.7 | -6.4 |
| Gasoline Stations | -0.3 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 5.5 | 17.7 | 14.7 | -22.0 |
| Non-Auto Less Gasoline | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 3.2 | -3.4 |
| Food Service | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 8.6 | 5.9 | 3.2 | -0.9 |
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.
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