U.S. Retail Sales Rise Minimally in April
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales excluding autos move slightly higher.
- Core spending eases.
- Motor vehicle and gasoline sales weaken.
Total retail sales edged up 0.1% (5.2% y/y) after rising 1.7% in March, revised from 1.4%, after holding steady in February, revised from a 0.2% gain. The figures are reported by the U.S Census Bureau. Expectations had been for no change in sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Excluding motor vehicles & parts, retail sales also rose 0.1% (4.2% y/y) during April after increasing 0.8% in March, revised from 0.5%, and 0.4% in February, revised from 0.7%. A 0.2% April gain had been expected.
Sales in the retail control group, which excludes autos, building materials, gasoline & food services, eased 0.2% (+4.9% y/y) after rising 0.5%, revised from 0.4% in March, and increasing 0.8% in February, revised from 1.3%. These sales are used in the construction of personal consumption expenditures in NIPA accounts.
Sales of motor vehicles & parts eased 0.1% (+9.4% y/y) last month and followed a 5.5% March increase. The rise compared to a 2.9% decline (+6.5% y/y) in unit light vehicle sales which followed an 10.5% March rise. Spending at gasoline stations weakened 0.5% (-6.8% y/y) after falling 2.5% in March. The decline came as gasoline prices fell 0.8% (NSA, -13.7% y/y) on average during April.
By category, sales of building materials & garden equipment rose 0.8% (3.2% y/y) in April following a 2.9% March rise. Nonstore retail sales improved 0.2% last month (7.5% y/y) after edging 0.1% higher. Furniture & home furnishings store sales improved 0.3% (7.8% y/y) after easing 0.1% in March. Electronics & appliance store sales rose 0.3% (0.1% y/y) following a 1.5% March increase. Working lower general merchandise store sales eased 0.2% (+2.8% y/y) in April following a 0.5% rise, and within that grouping, department store sales weakened 1.4% (-3.4% y/y) following a 0.4% March gain. Clothing & accessory store sales fell 0.4% (+3.5% y/y) after rising 1.1% in March. Sporting goods, hobby & book store sales weakened 2.5% (1.7% y/y) after increasing 3.8% in March.
In the nondiscretionary sales categories, health & personal care store sales fell 0.2% (+8.5% y/y) in April after strengthening 1.0% in March. Food & beverage store sales were roughly steady (+2.7% y/y) for the second straight month.
Restaurant & drinking place sales jumped 1.2% (7.8% y/y) last month after surging 3.0% in March.
Retail sales data can be found in Haver’s USECON database. The expectations figures are from the Action Economic Forecast Survey in AS1REPNA.
Opening Remarks by Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell can be found here.
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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