US retail sales drop sharply, signaling economic slowdown
The early signs of a recession are coming true . U.S. retail sales fell 1% month-over-month in March 2023, following a downwardly revised 0.2% decline in February and well ahead of market forecasts for a 0.4% decline. proof that cost pressures and rising interest rates are weighing on consumers' willingness to spend. The biggest drops were recorded in fuel sales (-5.5%), mainly due to lower prices; in general goods stores (-3%); in building materials and garden equipment (-2.1%); in electronics and household appliances (-2.1%); in clothing (-1.7%); in car dealerships (-1.6%); in furniture (-1.2%). Sales at food and beverage stores decreased by 0.1%. On the other hand, sales increased by 1.9% at non-store retailers and by 0.1% at food service and consumption establishments. So-called "core" retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services and relate more to the consumer spending component of GDP, fell 0.3% . Retail sales are not adjusted for inflation. Here is the related graph
For some time there had been talk of a strong economic slowdown linked to the restrictive policies of the FED, but now we have the counter-evidence also in the real economy. The decline in the sale of semi-durable goods, such as cars or building materials, is interesting and worrying. We will see if this trend will continue in the coming months.
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The article US retail sales drop sharply, signaling economic slowdown comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/vendite-al-dettaglio-negli-usa-in-sensibile-calo-segnalando-rallentamento-economico/ on Fri, 14 Apr 2023 16:00:36 +0000.