Retail Sales

Retail sales were strong in March according to the Census Bureau.  This is good for an economy like ours which thrives on consumption.  Sales for retail and food services increased 0.6 percent to end the first quarter of 2018.  This uptick follows a disappointing February which experienced a declined of 0.1 percent.

Atlas has noticed a pattern in recent economic data.  Our economy’s growth rate pushed through the 3.0 percent level (adjusted for inflation) during the middle quarters of last year; since then, the indicators have not been as strong.  Slower might best describe the recent developments.

Retail sales suffered a setback to start 2018 per the latest data from the Census Bureau.  The headline tally declined 0.3 percent, but it gets worse.  December’s figures were downwardly revised to unchanged after an initial reading of 0.4 percent which should push the nation’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) count lower when its revision is released later this

Retail sales added to economic output as 2017 came to a close according to the Census Bureau.  Spending totaled $495.4 billion in December, rising 0.4 percent.  Compared to a year earlier, retail sales improved 5.4 percent.  Additionally, November’s count was revised upward to 0.9 percent from the already impressive 0.8 percent jump in the initial release.

Retail sales gained in October 2017 according to the Census Bureau.  After an upwardly revised tally of 1.9 percent (originally 1.6 percent) in September, receipts grew 0.2 percent.  This slowdown was anticipated because the prior month’s tally was influenced by post-hurricane vehicle replacement which caused auto sales to jump 4.6 percent as the third-quarter came to a close.

Retail sales jumped in September 2017 according to the Census Bureau’s data.  After falling a revised 0.1 percent in August (originally -0.2 percent), the value of transactions climbed 1.6 percent as the third quarter came to a close.  Versus a year earlier, retail sales increased 4.4 percent.  However, it appears some of the data was influenced by difficult weather in the