Economists expected retail sales would rise of 0.7 percent in April.
The Commerce Department reported 0.4 percent but revised March from -1.0 percent to -0.7 percent. That would mostly be a wash but the Commerce Department revised February-to-March sales a bit lower.
Real sales, adjusted for price increases, were flat.
Please consider the Advance Retail Sales Report for April 2023.
Advance Retail Sales Details
- Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April 2023, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $686.1 billion, up 0.4 percent from the previous month, and up 1.6 percent above April 2022.
- Total sales for the February 2023 through April 2023 period were up 3.1 percent from the same period a year ago.
- The February 2023 to March 2023 percent change was revised from down 0.6 percent to down 0.7 percent.
- Retail trade sales were up 0.4 percent from March 2023, and up 0.5 percent above last year.
- Nonstore retailers were up 8.0 percent from last year, while food services and drinking places were up 9.4 percent from April 2022.
The key phrase is “adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.”
Consumers have to spend more money just to buy the same amount of goods and services as last month.
Inflation Adjusted Retail Sales Last Six Months
- November: -1.5 Percent
- December: -0.8 Percent
- January: +2.3 Percent
- February: -1.1 Percent
- March: -0.8 Percent
- April: + 0.0 Percent
Nominal Advance Retail Sales
Real vs Nominal Advance Retail Sales In Millions of Dollars
Real retail sales peaked a year ago, and that’s what drives GDP. Widespread talk of a robust consumer is nonsense.
Meanwhile, president Biden is doing everything in his power and many things that aren’t to drive up prices.
For discussion, please see The Inflation Reduction Act Price Jumps From $385 Billion to Over $1 Trillion
Also note yesterday’s hoot of the day: The UAW Demands a “Just Transition” to Electric Vehicles.
This post originated at MishTalk.Com
Please Subscribe!
Like these reports? I hope so, and if you do, please Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.
Subscribers get an email alert of each post as they happen. Read the ones you like and you can unsubscribe at any time.
If you have subscribed and do not get email alerts, please check your spam folder.
Mish
now stand at $17.05 trillion and have increased by $2.9 trillion since the end of 2019, just before the pandemic recession.”
The American Automobile Association (AAA) is projecting a 7% increase in travel volume for the holiday weekend compared to last year, according to the organization’s annual travel forecast released Monday.
All in all, the AAA expects 42.3 million Americans to travel 50 miles or more from home for the long weekend — 2.7 million more than in 2022.
“This is expected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when AAA started tracking holiday travel,” says Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “More Americans are planning trips and booking them earlier, despite inflation. This summer travel season could be one for the record books, especially at airports.”