U.S. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Increase In May Amid Jump In Auto Sales
(RTTNews) - The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected increase in U.S. retail sales in the month of May.
The report said retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in May after climbing by 0.4 percent in April. The continued advance surprised economists, who had expected retail sales to edge down by 0.1 percent.
The unexpected increase in retail sales was partly due to a jump in sales by motor vehicles and parts dealers, which shot up by 1.4 percent in May after rising by 0.4 percent in April.
Excluding the surge in auto sales, retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in May after rising by 0.4 percent in April. The uptick matched economist estimates.
A 2.6 percent plunge in sales by gas stations offset a 2.2 percent spike in sales by building material and supplies dealers.
Sales by furniture and home furnishings stores, food and beverage stores, sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores, general merchandise stores and food service and drinking places saw modest growth.
Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, edged up by 0.2 percent in May after climbing by 0.6 percent in April.
"'Control' retail sales, which feed into the GDP calculation, increased for a second straight month, and continues to hold near historic highs," said Oren Klachkin, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
He added, "Higher prices mean that real sales weren't as strong, but it's hard to deny that consumers continue to spend."
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