U.S. retail sales made a solid rebound in July, following a decline in June and after struggling for most of the year. Although price pressures continue, it has decreased substantially over the past few months, which allowed consumers to spend freely last month.
Retail Sales Soar Past Expectations
The Commerce Department said on Aug 15 that retail sales grew a solid 1% in July, following a 0.2% decline in June and ahead of the consensus estimate of a rise of 0.3%.
Retail sales, excluding gasoline, food, building materials and automobiles rose 0.3% in July after increasing 0.9% in June. Year over year, retail sales jumped 2.7% in the previous month, while total sales from May through July advanced 2.4% from the year-ago levels.
July's jump was driven by a solid 3.6% jump in sales at motor vehicles and auto parts dealers. Sales at electronics and appliance stores rose 1.6% in July. Sales at food and beverage outlets rose 0.9%.
Online sales increased 0.2% in July after increasing 2.2% in June. Amazon.com, Inc's Prime Day was largely responsible for the jump in online sales. Also, back-to-school shopping gave a boost to overall retail sales.
Resilient consumer spending saw retail sales grow in July, which could alleviate fears of a recession that were triggered earlier this month following ...
