Retail sales were flat in June, defying Wall Street expectations of a decline amid signs the U.S. economy is slowing.
Economists had expected spending to fall 0.3%, according to Bloomberg data. Meanwhile, Census Bureau data showed retail sales rose to a 0.3% increase in May from a previous reading of a 0.1% increase.
Sales excluding autos and gasoline rose 0.8% in June, beating market expectations of a 0.2% increase. A control group released on Tuesday that strips out several volatile categories and factors them into quarterly gross domestic product figures rose 0.9% in June, beating market expectations of a 0.2% increase.
The update on consumer spending comes as the U.S. economy is cooling but still growing. The latest data, combined with higher-than-expected inflation numbers, have the market betting the Fed will cut interest rates for the first time by the end of its September meeting.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in an interview with the Economic Club of Washington on Monday, declined to say when the Fed would begin an easing cycle.
“I’m not going to send a signal about any particular meeting,” he said. “We will make these decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis and taking into account the evolving data and balancing of risks.”
A sale sign hangs on a clothes rack at a store in Chicago, Monday, June 10, 2024. On Thursday, July 11, 2024, the Labor Department releases its report on consumer-level inflation for June. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) (The Associated Press)
Josh Shaffer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X Follow.
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