United States Retail Sales Mom

Retail sales in the US unexpectedly rose 0.7% mom in August of 2021, following an upwardly revised 1.8% fall in July, and beating market forecasts of a 0.8% drop. Sales rose the most for nonstore retailers (5.3%), furniture (3.7%), general merchandise stores (3.5%) and food and beverages stores (1.8%). Sales also went up for miscellaneous stores (1.4%), building material & garden equipment (0.9%), gasoline stations (0.2%) and health (0.2%). Such increases were able to offset a flat reading for food services and drinking places as the coronavirus delta variant spreads and a 3.6% drop in auto sales due to product shortages. Other decreases were also seen for electronics stores (-3.1%) and sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and books (-2.7%). Excluding autos, retail sales jumped 1.8%.