United States: Retail sales growth beats market expectations in August
Latest reading: Nominal retail sales rose 0.6% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms in August, stable from the previous month’s reading but triple market expectations.
Relative to the prior month’s figures, the reading for non-store retailers improved in August (+2.0% month on month vs +0.6% in July). In contrast, readings softened for motor vehicle and parts dealers (+0.5% vs +1.7% in July), food and beverages (+0.3% vs +0.5% in July), general merchandise stores (-0.1% vs 0.0% in July) and gasoline stations (+0.5% vs +0.9% in July).
In annual terms, retail sales rose 5.0% in August, following a 4.1% rise in the previous month.