Global| Aug 12 2004U.S. Retail Sales Up
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Retail sales rose 0.7% last month following a 0.5% June decline, revised from the initial report of a 1.1% slide. Consensus expectations had been for a 1.1% rise in July sales. Excluding motor vehicles & parts dealers sales rose 0.2% [...]
Retail sales rose 0.7% last month following a 0.5% June decline, revised from the initial report of a 1.1% slide. Consensus expectations had been for a 1.1% rise in July sales.
Excluding motor vehicles & parts dealers sales rose 0.2% after an upwardly revised 0.3% June gain, initially reported as -0.2%. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.4% rise.
Sales at gasoline service stations fell 0.5% (18.6% y/y) as gasoline prices dropped 2.9%. So far in August gas prices are down another 1.5% to an average $1.88/gal. Non-auto retail sales less gasoline rose 0.3% (6.8% y/y) in July. That followed a 0.3% rise in June and a 0.4% rise in May1.
Sales of furniture/home furnishings & electronics/appliances rose 0.7% (+6.8% y/y) following an upwardly revised 1.7% June gain. Sales at general merchandise stores jumped 1.0% (+6.4% y/y) but clothing and accessory store sales fell 0.1% (+3.9% y/y), the third down month in the last four.
| July | June | Y/Y | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales & Food Services | 0.7% | -0.5% | 6.5% | 5.4% | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| Excluding Autos | 0.2% | 0.3% | 7.8% | 5.2% | 3.2% | 3.1% |
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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