Retail sales in the U.S. declined in July as the number of coronavirus cases spiked, localities renewed some restrictions and businesses delayed their return to in-person work.
Sales dropped 1.1% in July compared to June and totaled $617.7 billion, according to the Census Bureaureportreleased Tuesday. The decrease was driven mainly by declining used and new car sales, clothing purchases, building materials sales, sports goods sales and furniture purchases.
Economists expected retail sales to fall 0.3%, a relatively modest drop compared to the actual decline, CNBCreported. All major stock market indices declined between 0.5% and 0.8% on Tuesday morning following the worse-than-expected report.
“There are a lot of reasons for anxiety among investors in the short term if you look at the delta variant, of course, if you look at the inflationary outlook, if you look at U.S. policy uncertainty and kind of continued choppy economic data,” BMO Global Asset Management senior investment strategist Jon AdamstoldYahoo Finance.
Excluding volatile vehicle and gasoline sales, total retail sales declined 0.7% last month. Car sales declined 3.9% in July, the largest drop of all major categories tracked by the government.
Gasoline and restaurants were among the few bright spots in the report, with sales rising 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively, compared to June.
In June, retail salesgrew0.6%, buoyed by stateseasingmost coronavirus restrictions. However, coronavirus cases have surged in recent weeks,accordingto Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Several major U.S. employers including Amazon, BlackRock and Wells Fargo have delayed their in-person return to work plans, CNBCreported. Localities like San Francisco havereintroducedstrict social distancing and indoor capacity restrictions.
The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 6.5% between April and June, a recent Commerce Department reportshowed. The International Monetary Fundprojectedlast month that the U.S. economy would grow 7% in 2021.
The National Retail Federation (NRF)predictedthat total 2021 retail sales would exceed $4.44 trillion.
“July retail sales showed slight deceleration in spending, but nothing to derail our outlook for a record year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in astatementTuesday. “Though the delta variant is presenting health challenges while supply chain disruptions along with unfilled job openings are presenting business challenges, the consumer and broader economy continue to display steady strength”
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact[email protected].
Read the full story at the Daily Caller News Foundation
Retail Sales Dipped In July Amid Spiking Coronavirus Cases
Thomas Catenaccion August 17, 2021
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact[email protected].