US July retail sales volumes jump past forecasts
The US consumer continued spending freely in July, particularly on motor vehicles and building materials.
Retail sales volumes sped ahead by 0.6% on the month in July to reach $478.9bn, according to the Department of Commerce, following an upwardly revised gain of 0.3% in the month before.
The print for June was originally pegged at a 0.1% dip on the month.
Sales of motor vehicles and building materials both increased by 1.2% month-on-month to reach $100.1bn and $31.44bn, respectively.
Excluding sales of autos and parts, sales rose by 0.5% on the month to hit $378.8bn (consensus: 0.4%).
Versus a year ago, total retail sales were ahead by 4.2%.
The so-called retail sales control group, which excludes automobiles, gasoline and building materials and feeds directly into the Commerce Department's quarterly GDP estimates, grew 0.6% (consensus: 0.4%).
"Admittedly, that was in part due to a 1.3% surge in non-store sales, presumably reflecting Amazon’s Prime Day, which reportedly saw US orders rise 50% from the same event a year ago. The 1.2% jump in motor vehicle sales is also unlikely to be sustained given the pressure on new car sales from the drop in used auto prices," said Michael Pearce at Capital Economics.
"In short, a great start to Q2, and the revisions will add 0.3pp to Q2 GDP growth, which now seems on course to be revised up to 2.8% from 2.6%, taking other components into account," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.