- US Retail Sales Drop for Second Month
The US consumers are not spending enough to boost retail sales, rather they are merely sustaining current level, according to the data released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
Retail sales dropped 0.2 percent in June after declining by 0.1 percent in May. This is below the 0.1 percent gain predicted by experts and further put third rates hike this year in doubt.
The report showed six of the 13 major retail categories fell in June. Suggesting that households were cautious about spending as uncertainty clouds business confidence and weaken economic attractiveness amid political unrest. This, according to experts may impact the second quarter result after a weak start to the year.
Also, sales within the so-called retail control group have now weakened for a quarter, indicating a weak finish to the first half of the year.
However, while this figure only account for a small portion of the consumer purchases, steady job gains bolstered household spending on services. While wage gains are still low to aid broad consumption and convince experts of sustain growth if rates were to be raised for the third time this year.
Sales from stores declined by 0.7 percent in June, after a 0.8 percent drop in May.
