*** ALL THINGS MONEY >>>> ATM ***

[EZ2]

U.S. retail sales slump near end of summer
MARKETWATCH 9:04 AM ET 09/15/17
Consumers spend less in August on cars, clothes, electronics

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. retail sales fell in August for the second time in three months, reflecting fewer car purchases and a reluctance by Americans to spend on a variety of consumer goods such as clothes and electronics.

Sales at retailers nationwide dropped 0.2% to mark the biggest decline in six months, the government said Friday (https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf). Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast no change.

(http://projects.marketwatch.com/economic-data/?series=RSAFS&theme=white&hed=Retail+sales&dek=Change+from+previous+ month%2C+seasonally+adjusted&source=Commerce+Department+via+FRED&source_link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.census.gov%2Fretail% 2F&drad=2&predictions=none)

Sales for July and June were also much weaker than originally reported.

The slower pace of retail spending partly reflects the outsized importance on the U.S. auto industry since it accounts for about one-fifth of all sales. In August, sales at auto dealers sank 1.6%.

After years of record-breaking sales, automakers are confronting a more saturated market in which demand is slowing.

Weaker retail sales is hardly a sign of economic weakness, however. The U.S. expansion is still going strong after eight years, buoyed by the lowest unemployment rate since 2001 and gradually rising incomes and household wealth.

"With consumer confidence close to record highs and the labor market continuing to improve," economist Andrew Hunter of Capital Economics said, "we doubt this is the start of more sustained downturn and expected retail spending to bounce back over the coming months."

If autos are excluded, U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in August. The caveat: the increase was due almost entirely to higher gasoline prices, a negative for consumers. Sales at gas stations leaped 2.5%, the largest increase since December.

Prices at the pump could also remain elevated for awhile in light of heavy damage to major refining operations in Houston and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey.

The hurricane itself appeared to have little effect on overall U.S. retail sales. The U.S. Census said some retailers saw higher demand after the storm and some reported fewer sales.

Sales at Internet retailers were surprisingly weak, falling 1.1% in August. That's the biggest decline since spring of 2014.

Internet-related sales got a pop in July, however, from Amazon's annual Prime Day sale. That may have spurred some buyers to make purchases in July they may have normally made in August.

Sales at department stores, which have been losing ground to online rivals for years, fell a much smaller 0.1%.

The soft tenor of sales last month is an extension of recent trends. Retail sales were flat in May, down in June and even July's originally reported 0.6% gain was cut in half, revised figures show.

Retail sales in the U.S. could be choppy over the next few months as the cleanup begins in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The storms dealt a big blow major economic centers stretching from Houston to Miami, forcing businesses to close and millions of people to flee.

By and large, though, Americans continue to spend at a moderate pace. Retail sales have increased 3.2% over the past year.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat opening for the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

-Jeffry Bartash; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]


(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-15-170904ET
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.