The American The Commerce Department said Friday that the seasonally and calendar-adjusted value of retail and hospitality sales was $621.3 billion in June, up 0.6 percent from May and 17.98 percent from June last year. In May, sales were down 1.7 percent month over month and year-on-year by 27.60 percent.
Experts had expected a 0.4 percent month-on-month decline in retail sales for June.
Sales of the largest piece, autos and auto parts, fell 2 percent month-on-month, but were up 19.5 percent year-over-year in June. Apparel and footwear sales jumped 2.6% month over month and 47.1% year over year. The catering unit sales volume increased by 2.3% and 40.2%, respectively.
Excluding auto and gasoline sales, retail and hospitality sales grew 1.1 percent month-on-month in June after a 1 percent drop in May. Year-on-year growth was 15.8 percent, slowing from 23.5 percent in May.
In the United States, household consumption accounts for more than two-thirds of economic output, so the development of retail sales is an important indicator of growth.
