The
Commerce Department announced on Tuesday the sales at U.S. retailers climbed
1.7 percent m-o-m in October, following a revised 0.8 percent m-o-m advance in September
(originally a 0.7 percent m-o-m gain). This was the largest monthly increase in
retail sales since March.
Economists
had expected total sales would rise 1.4 percent m-o-m in September.
According
to the report, the October climb in retail sales was supported by higher sales
in most major categories, led by the nonstore retailers (+4.0 percent m-o-m), the
gasoline stations (+3.9 percent m-o-m), and the electronics & appliance
stores (+3.8 percent m-o-m). At the same time, the clothing & clothing
accessories stores (-0.7 percent m-o-m) and the health & personal care
stores (-0.6 percent m-o-m) posted declines.
Excluding
auto, retail sales also surged 1.7 percent m-o-m in October after a revised 0.7
percent m-o-m gain in the previous month (originally a 0.8 percent m-o-m advance),
being much better than economists’ forecast of a 1.0 percent m-o-m jump.
Meanwhile,
closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline,
building materials and food services, and are used in GDP calculations, soared 1.6
percent m-o-m in October after a revised 0.5 percent m-o-m increase in September
(originally a 0.8 percent m-o-m increase). Economists had forecast core retail
sales to grow 0.9 percent m-o-m in October.
In
y-o-y terms, the U.S. retail sales surged 16.3 percent in October after a
revised 14.3 percent climb in the previous month (originally a 13.9 percent climb). This
marked the largest increase since June.