Rising employment, stronger finances and cheap fuel are helping draw consumers into stores and vehicle dealerships.
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The dollar advanced modestly Thursday against the euro and other currencies after a solid US retail sales report sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon lift benchmark interest rates. “We have a vibrant labor market and the unemployment rate continues to move lower”. Still, retail sales account for only about one-third of spending, with services such as haircuts and Internet access making up the remaining two-thirds.
The June uptick matches economists’ forecast of an 0.6% rise in retail sales, according to a survey by FactSet.
Receipts at sporting goods and hobby stores rose 0.9 percent.
Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, or by 0.4% excluding the auto sector, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch does a great preview of retail sales by using its credit card and debit card spending data. Personal consumption, a measure by the Commerce Department that reflects all types of consumer spending, rose just 0.2 per cent in June, the smallest gain since February.
But June data on factory inventories and imports as well as upward revisions to May construction spending figures have left economists expecting that the advance second-quarter GDP growth figure could be raised to at least a 3.0 percent pace.
Economist are based on retail sales report since they are the closest indication of the willingness of the Americans to spend.
Amazon.com held a Prime Day on July 15 to mark its 20th anniversary, featuring reduced prices on television sets, lawnmowers and other goods. Prices for U.S. government debt fell.
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The job market is giving consumers the wherewithal to keep spending.
