The U.S. Department of Commerce has released the retail sales report for the month of August. After another consecutive disappointing month in July, retail sales changed their tune and made a strong recovery for August — and the July reading’s revision makes it look better than the initial report indicated.
Retail sales for the month of August rose by 0.6% to match up perfectly against the Bloomberg estimate of 0.6%. This is up from July, when retail sales were revised to 0.3% from its initial reading of completely flat, and that was on the heels of June’s reading of 0.2%.
The August report showed that the retail sales ex-autos were up by 0.3%, also matching the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 0.3%. The month of July had a retail sales ex-autos revised to 0.3% and June’s reading was 0.4%. The retail sales less autos and gas was up 0.5%, against its estimate of 0.4%. The retail sales less autos and gas in July was revised to 0.3%, after jumping to 0.6% in June.
What stands out here is that as gasoline prices have been dropping, the consumer has more money to spend on other things.
READ ALSO: U.S. Credit Card Debt on Track to Rise by $55 Billion in 2014
Find a Qualified Financial Advisor (Sponsor)
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
