After April's retail sales rout, spending in May was expected to rebound strongly as various parts of the economy reopened (admittedly slowly) with BofA's real-time credit-card tracker suggesting strength in airlines, restaurants, and furniture stores.
However, the actual data was massively better than expected with headline sales soaring 17.7% MoM - a record MoM jump (and April was revised to a smaller drop).
Source: Bloomberg
This sent core retail sales soaring back into the positive on a YoY basis (+2.1%) and headline down (just) 6.1%...
Source: Bloomberg
The rebound was broad-based with all 13 major categories posting increases. Clothing stores led gains, increasing 188% from the month before but autos and furniture also soared...
Mission accomplished?
Wow! May retail sales show biggest one-month increase of ALL TIME, up 17.7%. Far bigger than projected. Looks like a BIG DAY FOR THE STOCK MARKET, AND JOBS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 16, 2020
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.