July 14, 2011

Carrick: U.S. Census Bureau reports little change from May in retail spending

In the United States, retail sales in June were only 0.1 per cent higher than in May. Some categories of goods that tie closely to the housing market, including furniture, home furnishings and appliances, did not change much from last year.

But overall retail spending in June was 8.1 per cent higher than in June, 2010, which is a good increase even when the inflation rate of 3.6 per cent is taken into account.

For more analysis of U.S. retail spending in the context of the rise in energy prices, the battle between the Obama administration and Republican congress members over the debt ceiling and the latest jobless claims report, please see U.S. retail spending stayed high but flat in June by Alex Carrick, chief economist of Reed Construction Data Canada.

In his blog, Carrick looks at the retail spending by category and notes an improvement in the initial jobless claims for the week ending July 9.

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