Retail sales remained unchanged in June from May, following a revised increase of 0.3% in May, according to the Commerce Department. This comes after April sales were revised downward to a 0.2% decline. Sales had previously risen by 0.6% in March and 0.9% in February, after falling 1.1% in January due to inclement weather.
Gas stations and auto dealerships contributed to the stagnation in June’s retail sales. Excluding these sectors, retail sales actually rose by 0.8%. Specifically, sales at gas stations fell by 0.3% and auto store business declined by 0.2% due to disruptions from a cyberattack on a software supplier. Meanwhile, online sales increased by 1.9%, and restaurant sales went up by 0.3%, with clothing and accessories stores seeing a 0.6% rise.
Despite these sector-specific changes, government retail data does not account for inflation, which decreased by 0.1% from May to June. High inflation has previously inflated retail sales figures. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that inflation is moving closer to the 2% target, suggesting potential interest rate cuts in the future. Recent reports showed a decline in consumer prices, with June marking the third consecutive month of decreases, bringing the year-over-year inflation rate down to 3%. Core prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, rose by 3.3% year-over-year, slightly below May’s 3.4%.
