WASHINGTON: US retail sales rose only slightly in June on weaker sales in automobiles and building materials, the government said Tuesday, in a report that still showed momentum in consumer spending.
Retail and food services sales rose 0.2 percent in June, and sales excluding autos were up 0.4 percent, the Commerce Department said.
The department upwardly revised its May numbers, to a 0.5 percent increase from the prior estimate of 0.3 percent. Ex-auto sales were revised up to 0.4 percent from 0.1 percent.
Retail sales are a key element of consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of US economic activity.
The report came in below analysts' expectations of a 0.7 percent gain in retail sales and a 0.6 percent rise in ex-auto retail sales.
Auto sales fell 0.3 percent in June. Building material and garden supply retailers saw sales drop 1.0 percent.
Retail trade sales rose 0.3 percent and sales at non-store retailers, generally online retailers, were up 8.1 percent.
Year-over-year, total retail sales in June were up 4.3 percent, a slightly slower pace than May's 4.6 percent increase.
Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, pointed to higher revisions for April and May retail sales that had brought the second quarter to an annualized gain of more than 6.5 percent, the biggest quarterly increase since 2011.
"That 'strong handoff to Q3' comment still flies," she said. "This suggests some upside risk to Q2 consumer spending."
Although the retail sales data do not capture the entire picture of consumer spending, she added, "from what we're seeing, it's better than what was anticipated."
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