Weak inflation and signs of slowing consumer spending could complicate the Federal Reserve’s decision next month whether to raise interest rates.
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Overall retail sales in the USA grew 0.1% in October, matching Septembers 0.1% increase, which was left unchanged, and missing estimates of closer to 0.3%. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.4 percent. Online sales were up 7.1 percent from a year ago. Furnishers, building material sellers, sporting goods outlets and department stores also notched gains. Receipts at building materials and garden equipment stores rose 0.9 percent, while sales at furniture stores increased 0.4 percent.
Excluding motor vehicles, sales were up 0.2 per cent in October.
Excluding the drop in auto sales, retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in October following a revised 0.4 percent drop in September. “I think we’ll see the consumer spend a little bit more aggressively through the rest of this year and into 2016 as we get a little bit more wage growth”.
Washington:Sales at United States retailers rose less than forecast in October as consumers pocketed the money saved after fueling up their cars. Auto and truck purchases totaled 1.5 million in October, a 14 percent increase from a year ago, according to Autodata Corp.
Lower energy prices have held down the overall figure since the middle of past year, as consumers spent less at gas stations thanks to lower gasoline prices.
Earlier this week, economists at Bank of America said that their internal data was pointing to a disappointing report that could show a month-on-month decline in sales. Nordstrom cut its guidance for the year due to soft sales across all merchandise categories.
However, the sales growth was partly offset by a pullback in auto sales, which fell by 0.5 percent in October after jumping by 1.4 percent in September.
So not only do consumers not really go to malls anymore, but an often-cited measure of how consumers are doing broadly (the retail sales figure) doesn’t actually paint a comprehensive picture of consumer health. While the French CAC 40 Index has tumbled by 1.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 1 percent.In commodities trading, crude oil futures for December delivery are slipping $0.19 to $41.56 a barrel after tumbling $1.18 to $41.75 a barrel on Thursday. September’s reading was revised down from an initially reported 0.1 per cent advance. And the personal saving rate rose to 4.8 per cent, compared with 4.7 per cent in August.
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Household spending will likely determine the economy’s growth heading into the final months of 2015.
