US Jul. Retail Sales Rise Despite Tariff Uncertainty
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US retail sales posted solid advances in consecutive months for the first time this year, tempering concerns of a retrenchment in spending as consumers remain unsettled by the potential for tariff-induced inflation.
Retail sales remain strong, but consumers face slowing wage growth and rising credit card debt, limiting their ability to absorb future tariff-driven price hikes.
Real Retail Sales are holding steady but on an uptrend from April 2024. The past 2mos saw higher revisions. There was a noted boost in Light Weight Vehicle Sales & Parts with the 16.411Mil SAAR coming in 1mil above the forecasted 15.3Mil level.
Policymakers are under pressure to roll out more stimulus to revive domestic demand and ward off external shocks to the $19 trillion economy.
Here are three of the stories Wall Street is watching on Friday, Aug. 15. Retail sales in July rose 0.5% from the month prior, slightly below the 0.6% economists polled by Bloomberg were expecting. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting today in Alaska.
Consumer spending ticked up in July in line with economists’ expectations, suggesting American households remain resilient.