The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for June, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $373.9 billion, a decrease of 0.9 percent (±0.7%) from the previous month, but 3.8 percent (±0.7%) above June 2006. Total sales for the April through June 2007 period were up 3.9 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The April to May 2007 percent change was revised from +1.4 percent (± 0.7%) to +1.5 percent (± 0.3%).
All areas of retail sales declined -- motor vehicles and parts, general merchandise, gas stations, apparel, electronics and appliances and health stores.
However:
Retail sales decreased 0.9% last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. The drop followed a big, 1.5% increase in May, revised up from an originally estimated 1.4% jump. Demand dropped 0.3% in April, the first month of the second quarter.
Economists have been predicting consumer spending would soften after its first-quarter surge, and they expected a drop in June sales. But the 0.9% fall was much bigger than forecast; the median estimate of 27 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires was a 0.1% decline.
In fact, the 0.9% decrease was the largest since a fall of 1.5% in August 2005. Still, the decline wasn't broad, with demand among some retailers, including general merchandise stores, rising. The decrease among all retailers except the auto and gasoline sectors was a much smaller 0.3%.
In other words, the auto sector was a pretty big reason for the large drop.
