US Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Trade Report

US Retail Sales Unexpectedly Rise 0.1% in August, Core Sales Miss 0.2% Expectation

Sep 17, 2024, 12:43 PM

US retail sales unexpectedly rose by 0.1% in August, defying expectations of a 0.2% decline. Core retail sales, excluding autos and gas, also increased by 0.1%, missing forecasts for a 0.2% gain. The control group, which feeds into GDP calculations, rose 0.3% as expected. Year-over-year, retail sales grew by 2.1%, although this was below the 2.5% forecast. The rise in retail sales was supported by a 1.4% increase in online sales and a 0.7% increase in health and personal care sales. However, there were declines in several categories including gasoline stations (-1.2%), electronics (-1.1%), and department stores (-2.1%). Industrial production also showed strong performance, increasing by 0.8% in August, surpassing the expected 0.2% growth. Manufacturing output rose by 0.9%, while capacity utilization reached 78.0%, slightly above the forecasted 77.9%.