From The Street
Retail sales rose for the second time in two months in July — the first time that’s happened this year — but not at a pace that offers definitive evidence the U.S. consumer can be depended on to single-handedly sustain the economy.
The Commerce Department said sales rose 1.2% in July to $304.3 billion following an upwardly revised 1.4% gain in June. Much of the improvement is attributable to cars and trucks that are being purchased with interest-free loans, as well as gasoline sales. In fact, factoring those segments out, retail spending was unchanged in July.
Fed
officials are meeting Tuesday in Washington to set interest-rate policy. Although the report may not be among the data the committee considers, it is consistent with recent signals that the U.S. recovery continues to sputter along unevenly, with weakness in one area offsetting strength in another.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise 1.2% after June’s previously reported 1.1%. Sales excluding automobiles were expected to rise 0.3%; they in fact rose 0.2% after a previously reported 0.4% June rise. Sales at car and parts dealerships rose 4.2%, the same as in June, with cars and trucks selling in July at an annual rate of 18.1 million units, up from June’s 16.5 million. Gasoline sales rose 2.7%. Read more from The street
