Retail sales very much worst than expected

• Retail sales for July by –0.1% in July followed by a 0.6% gain in the previous month. Economist had expected the figures to rise 0.8%.
• Auto sales, which were expected to receive a boost from the government’s cash for clunkers program, gained by +2.4%.  Followed by a 1.9% increase in June.

"The consumer is clearly far from out of the woods," noted Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.

• July saw a decline in furniture, electronics, building materials, food and beverages, sporting goods and department stories. 
• This was partially offset by more spending on restaurants and bars, online retailing and clothing.
• Electronics segment suffered a -1.4% slide, with sales down 14% compared to last year.
• Furniture sales dropped by 0.9% compared to the previous month.
• Sporting goods fell –1.9%.
• Building materials fell by –2.1% and department store sales dropped by –1.6%

“consumers continue to deleverage from the mountains of debt" they built up over the past two-decades.” – Lindsey Piegza (Economic analyst, FTN Financial)

Source: RTT News