U.S. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Decrease Amid Slump In Gas Prices
17 März 2020 - 10:36AM
RTTF2
Partly reflecting a steep drop in sales by gas stations, the
Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing an
unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in the month of
February.
The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.5 percent in
February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in
January.
The pullback came as a surprise to economists, who had expected
retail sales to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent
increase originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a 0.9 percent decrease in auto sales, retail sales
still slid by 0.4 percent in February after rising by an upwardly
revised 0.6 percent in January. Ex-auto sales had been expected to
tick up by 0.2 percent.
The unexpected drop in sales came as sales by gas stations
plummeted by 2.8 percent in February amid a steep decline in
gasoline prices.
Sales by electronics and appliance stores, clothing and
accessories stores and building material and supplies dealers also
showed significant decreases.
On the other hand, the report showed a 1.4 percent jump in sales
by miscellaneous store retailers as well as notable growth in sales
by non-store retailers.
Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude autos,
gasoline, building materials and food services, were unchanged in
February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in
January.
Economists had expected core sales to increase by about 0.4
percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for
the previous month.
Looking ahead, Andrew Hunter, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital
Economics, said retail sales are likely to fall sharply in March
amid escalating coronavirus fears, stepped up containment measures
and consumers avoiding public places like restaurants and
cinemas.
"That will drag first-quarter consumption growth lower too,
though the hit probably came too late to cause an outright decline
in the first quarter," Hunter said.
He added, "With spending likely to continue falling sharply over
the coming weeks, the only question now is how severe the
second-quarter decline will be."
US Dollar vs Yen (FX:USDJPY)
Forex Chart
Von Mär 2024 bis Apr 2024
US Dollar vs Yen (FX:USDJPY)
Forex Chart
Von Apr 2023 bis Apr 2024