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US retail sales fall 0.6% month over month in July
The decline brings retail sales excluding auto and gasoline down to -0.2%, reinforcing concerns about softer near term demand as the Federal Reserve weighs September policy.
US retail sales weakened in July, with headline sales falling 0.6% month over month, according to Action Forex. The reading slowed from 0.2% in the prior month and came in below economists expectations for a 0.2% increase.
Sales excluding autos also deteriorated, dropping 0.3% month over month versus -0.2% previously, and missing the expected 0.2% gain. Even after stripping out both autos and gasoline, retail sales were down 0.2% month over month, pointing to weakness beyond typically volatile categories.
Retail sales excluding food services were softer still at -0.8% month over month. Despite the monthly drop, annual trends remained positive, with total retail and food services up 5.0% year over year, and May to July sales 6.3% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Action Forex said the July data adds to the case for the Federal Reserve to keep rates unchanged in September. The outlet noted weaker consumer spending follows already concerning payroll figures, while recent CPI and PPI readings reduced the urgency to tighten again.
Latest closeGasoline (RBOB) $2.850 ▼9.6%