The Commerce
Department informed on Wednesday that sales at U.S. retailers jumped by 1.4 per cent m-o-m in March,
following an unrevised 0.2 per cent
m-o-m advance in
February. This marked the strongest monthly increase in retail sales since January
2023 (+4.1 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had expected
total sales would climb 1.3 per
cent m-o-m in March.
According to
the report, the March soar
in the total retail sales was
due to gains in 11 of
all 13 retail categories, led by motor vehicle and parts dealers (+5.3 per cent m-o-m), building material and
garden equipment and supplies dealers (+3.3 per cent m-o-m), and sporting
goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores (+2.4 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile,
gasoline stations (-2.5 per cent m-o-m) and furniture and home furnishings
stores (-0.7 per cent m-o-m) posted declines
in retail sales in March.
Excluding auto,
retail sales increased 0.5 per cent m-o-m in March after an upwardly revised 0.7
per cent m-o-m advance (from +0.3 per cent m-o-m) in the previous month, exceeding economists’ forecast of a 0.3 per
cent m-o-m gain.
In y-o-y terms,
U.S. retail sales surged 4.6 per cent in March after an upwardly revised 3.5
per cent rise (from +3.1 per
cent) in the previous month. This was the strongest annual advance since December
2023 (+5.0 per cent).