By CountingPips.com
U.S. retail sales decreased for a second straight month in June as consumer spending on retail goods fell by more than unexpected. Advance estimates of retail sales showed that sales decreased by 0.5 percent to a total of $360.2 billion in June following a revised decrease of 1.1 percent in May, according to the report by the U.S. Commerce Department.
This marks the second consecutive month of decline in retail sales following a string of seven consecutive monthly sales increases through April. The retail sales results were worse than the 0.2 percent decline for June that the market forecasters were expecting.
On an annual basis and despite the monthly decrease, the June sales level was 4.8 percent higher than the June 2009 level following an annual gain of 6.9 percent in May.
Core retail sales, excluding automobile sales and parts, fell by 0.1 percent in June after core sales declined by 1.2 percent in May. On an annual basis, core sales increased by 4.4 percent in June from June 2009 following an annual gain of 5.7 percent in May.
Contributing to the decreased retail sales numbers for June was a 2.3 percent decline in motor vehicle and parts dealer sales. Also showing decreases for the month were gasoline station sales with a decline of 2.0 percent, sporting goods, hobby, book & music store sales with a 1.4 percent shortfall and a decrease by 1.0 percent in building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers.
Positively contributing to retail sales last month were nonstore retailers (+1.0), food services & drinking places (+0.2), miscellaneous stores retailers (+1.1), health & personal care stores (+0.5), clothing & clothing accessories stores (+0.6) and electronics & appliance stores (+1.3).
US Dollar falls in Forex Markets
The U.S. dollar has been trading lower in the forex markets for a second straight day against the other major currencies after today’s U.S. retail sales release and a day after the positive earnings report from Intel that has helped boost risk appetite. The American currency has lost ground today versus the euro, British pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Japanese yen.
The U.S. stock markets, meanwhile, have been slightly positive so far today with the Dow Jones increasing by over 25 points, the Nasdaq up by approximately 15 point and the S&P 500 is higher by over two points just before noon in the U.S. trading session. Oil has edged higher by $0.62 to the $77.77 level while gold has dipped by $3.70 to stand at the $1,221.00 per ounce level.
