Retail sales rose 0.5% in March amid inflation jump; import prices hit 11 year high
Retail sales climbed 0.5 from the previous month, slightly less than the 0.6 Dow Jones estimate and a deceleration from the upwardly revised 0.8% gain in February. The move came with inflation rising 1.2% for the month as measured by consumer price index.Retail sales data is not adjusted for inflation. Consequently, the biggest gain in sales for the month was at gas stations, which saw an 8.9% increase in sales as gasoline prices rose 18.3% during the period. The sector has seen a 37% sales burst over the past year. By contrast, online sales slumped sharply, falling 6.4% for the month. General merchandise stores saw a gain of 5.4%, sporting goods and electronics stores both had 3.3% gains, and sales at food and beverage stores along with bars and restaurants rose 1%. Retail sales broadly rose 6.9% from a year ago, a period during which CPI inflation surged 8.5%, the highest level since December 1981. In other economic data, initial jobless claims rose to 185,000 for the week ended April 9, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week and above the estimate of 172,000. Continued claims, which run a week behind the headline number, fell by 48,000 to 1.475 million. Also, inflation continued to hit imports, with prices rising by 2.6%, the largest monthly increase since April 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That was higher even than the 2.2% estimate. On a 12-month basis, import prices jumped 12.5%, the largest such gain since September 2011.
Retail sales along with many other commodities will rise in price due to the rising threat of inflation. Supply chain issues have also contributed to the reason for high prices in the retail industry and inflation in general. The government has to step in to resolve the supply chain conflicts soon or else we could possibly head into a reccesion.
ReplyDeleteI think it's super interesting to see the percentage changes in all the different categories of sales. This is definitely due to supply chain issues but I wonder what exactly the government can do to intervene with this.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that retail is spiking while the economy at large appears to be hurting. Do you believe that supply issues are being resolved or are there other factors at play to explain this?
ReplyDeleteThe retail industry in the US worth over 4 trillion U.S. dollars. Many people depend on it. It is fascinating to see growth in this industry
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see retail sales increase, while most other sectors are seeing falling sales.
ReplyDeleteI think we can continue to see retail sales increasing as many consumers are more confident to return to in person shopping. Consumer confidence plays a huge role in the retail industry and I think we can continue to see steady growth in the coming months.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that online sales slumped sharply, falling 6.4% for the month is surprising for me. It seemed to me that with surging gas prices, COVID, and other ongoing factors that online sales would continue to rise. However, I would imagine that this fall doesn’t mean online stores had a bad month, but instead they just did not keep up with their previous high-standard months. The fact that retail sales broadly rose 6.9% from a year ago is also surprising as all we’ve seemed to be hearing is how fast retail stores and retail companies are going to die.
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