US Retail Sales Surge in August

September 12, 2014 Share Print 0

U.S. retail sales rose in August as Americans bought automobiles and a range of other goods, which should ease some concerns about consumer spending and support expectations for sturdy growth in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales increased 0.6 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.3 percent gain in July.

The increase in retail sales, which account for a third of consumer spending, was in line with economists’ expectations.

July’s retail sales were previously reported to have been flat.

So-called core sales, which strip out automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, and correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, increased 0.4 percent in August.

via Reuters

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.