Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly dropped in May, signaling consumers boosted savings as employment slowed and stocks fell.Building materials (which fell back to earth following a spike in April to take advantage of the end of the tax credit) and a 20% decline in the price of oil led the fall in gasoline (these figures are nominal). Subtracting those outliers we still have a decline, which shows weakness. Just not as weak as early reports would indicate.
Purchases decreased 1.2 percent, the biggest drop since September 2009, following a 0.6 percent April gain that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Demand plunged at building-material stores, reflecting the end of a government appliance rebate, and sales fell at auto dealers, in contrast to industry figures which showed a gain.
Source: Census
hmmm...
ReplyDeleteIn May you referred to April sales as strong when the entire gain could be attributed to building material & garden supply category.
http://econompicdata.blogspot.com/2010/05/retail-sales-strong.html
Now when it falls, it doesn't count?
Your blog is a neat idea, but you need to work on the bullish bias. Unless you're angling for a job on Wall Street, of course. ;-)
Ha... I hate to admit it but I think the inconsistancy has more to do with how much time I have to review what I am saying. I should probably just not post when I am under time constraint with real work, though I feel seeing details is probably beneficial for readers without my color than nothing.
ReplyDeleteAs for Wall St... I can be bought! Anyone buying???