WASHINGTON — Retail sales unexpectedly fell 1.2% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis to post their first decline in eight months, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Sales excluding autos fell 1.1%.
Economists had expected retail sales to increase 0.2% and forecast that sales excluding autos would rise 0.1%, according to the median estimates in a Thomson Reuters survey.
Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said the report confirms that the economic recovery continues to be “rocky and fragile.”