WASHINGTON — The U.S. May retail sales report was a strong positive for growth, as it included a good gain in overall sales and massive upward revisions to prior months’ sales.
May retail sales printed up 1.0%, ex-auto increased 1.2%, ex-gasoline was 0.8% higher, and ex-autos-and-gas rose 1.0%.
April-March sales were revised massively higher, with April now showing a 0.4% increase overall. Even if the May consumer price index prints up 0.5%, the sales revisions imply consumption is now tracking a plus rather than a subtraction from second-quarter real gross domestic product.
— Market News International
