Global| Nov 15 2011U.S. Retail Spending Continues To Grow
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Consumer spending continued on a moderate growth track last month. October retail & food service sales increased 0.5% following an unrevised 1.1% September gain. The October increase roughly matched Consensus expectations for a 0.4% [...]
Consumer spending continued on a moderate growth track last month. October retail & food service sales increased 0.5% following an unrevised 1.1% September gain. The October increase roughly matched Consensus expectations for a 0.4% rise, according to the Action Economics survey. Three-month growth in sales rose to 8.2% (AR), its highest in six months.
Last month's sales strength was led by a 3.7% surge (3.5% y/y) in electronics, a 1.5% increase (5.6% y/y) in building materials and a 1.5% gain (11.1% y/y) in non-store retailers. Sales at food & beverage stores also posted a strong 1.1% gain (6.3% y/y) while food service & drinking places expenditures increased 0.4% (6.7% y/y) following the 1.2% September jump. Motor vehicles also rose 0.4% (7.0% y/y) in conjunction with the 1.2% gain in unit purchases.
Sales of other discretionary items were soft. Sales at clothing & accessory stores fell 0.7% (+5.8% y/y) while sales of furniture & home furnishings also were off 0.7% (+3.4% y/y). Sales at general merchandise stores slipped marginally (+3.8% y/y). Gasoline service station sales also declined 0.4% (+15.6% y/y). Gas prices slipped 0.3% when seasonally adjusted by Haver. Excluding both autos and gasoline, retail sales increased 0.8% last month (6.0% y/y), roughly double the gains of the prior three months.
The retail sales figure are available in Haver's USECON database. The Action Economics figures are in the AS1REPNA database.
| Retail Spending (%) | Oct | Sep | Aug | Oct Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Retail Sales & Food Services | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 7.2 | 6.4 | -7.0 | -1.2 |
| Excluding Autos | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 7.3 | 5.7 | -5.5 | 2.1 |
| Retail Sales | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 7.3 | 6.8 | -7.8 | -1.6 |
| Motor Vehicle & Parts | 0.4 | 4.2 | -0.8 | 7.0 | 10.0 | -13.7 | -14.0 |
| Retail excluding Autos | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 7.4 | 6.1 | -6.3 | 2.1 |
| Gasoline Stations | -0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 15.6 | 16.9 | -22.2 | 10.4 |
| Non-Auto Less Gasoline | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 6.0 | 4.2 | -2.9 | 0.9 |
| Food Service | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 6.7 | 2.7 | -0.5 | 2.2 |
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.
More Economy in Brief
