US: June retail sales do not meet expectations

Retail sales during June increased by 0.2%, but with the exclusion of gas and autos, it increased by 0.4%.

Economists were expecting sales growth of 0.6% over last month and 0.5% excluding gas and autos. During May, retail sales saw a growth of 0.5%, but excluding gas and autos, sales remained constant.Retailers have issued discouraging commentary about sales. The CEO of Container Store, Kip Tindell, said that consumers may be purchasing automobiles and homes and at times high price furniture, but most portions of the retail market are experiencing more challenging sales than they had hoped for earlier in 2014.

 

The hardwood flooring retailer, Lumber Liquidators, said that the demand they experienced during March was not evident in May and June has weakened even more.Family Dollar has also reported declining quarterly earnings and Gap reported a 2% decline in sales during June.John Silvia from Wells Fargo said that vehicle sales were continuing to show strength and should apply pressure on retail sales. He stated that consumer confidence has reached its highest level in the past six years.