US retail sales up more than expected in March

Retail sales in the United States grew more than anticipated last month, government data showed on Monday (Apr 15), defying predictions of weaker consumer demand.

US retail sales picked up by 0.7 per cent in March to US$709.6 billion, after February’s increase was revised to 0.9 per cent, said the Commerce Department.

From a year ago, the March figure was 4.0 per cent higher.

Boosting the headline figure was a 2.1 per cent rise in gas station sales from February to March, said the latest report.

Excluding gas stations, overall sales were up by a slightly lower 0.6 per cent.

But motor vehicle and parts dealers saw a sales decline of 0.7 per cent in March, while electronics and appliance stores’ sales slid 1.2 per cent.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

While resilience in consumer spending has helped US economic growth in the last year, analysts expect demand to cool this year amid cost fatigue and high interest rates.

Households would also have drawn down on savings from the Covid-19 pandemic period.

Analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics cautioned that retail sales numbers are “hard to forecast with much confidence” given the potential for substantial revisions.

But rising gas prices were likely behind the higher gasoline sales.

For now, Pantheon expects consumption in the first three months this year to slow from that in the fourth quarter last year. AFP