Consumer spending was undoubtedly weak in June, but the report’s upward revision puts the retail sales figures more in line with the 0.2 percent June increase in personal consumption expenditures reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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Increased sales of cars and a range of other items helped push U.S. retail sales up 0.6 percent in July. Investors and economists have been looking for the consumer to drive the economy, particularly as about 70% of gross domestic product comes from the consumer spending component. Another report from the Department of Commerce showed a jump of 0.8% in business inventories during June that suggest growth during the second quarter was also stronger than was initially estimated. Conversely, sales at gasoline stations declined 15.2 percent from a year ago.
Retail trade sales were up 0.6% from June 2015, and they were 1.6% above previous year. The hiring has driven the unemployment rate down to 5.3 percent from 6.2 percent during that period.
For July, the bank estimates that sales grew 0.4% month-on-month, excluding autos.
Sales last month rose in most categories, with receipts at auto dealerships increasing 1.4 per cent after falling 1.5 per cent in June.
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The advance estimates are from approximately 4,900 retail and food services firms, which are said to account for approximately 60% of the MARTS dollar volume estimate.
