Lower Auto Sales Drag Down April Retail Figures

Dragged down by lower auto sales, total U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% in April after dropping 0.2% in March, signaling an economic slowdown, the Commerce Department reported today.

Retail sales fell to $148.6 billion in April from $149.5 billion in March, the department’s Census Bureau said. The numbers were adjusted for seasonal factors but not for price changes.

Excluding automobiles, U.S. retail sales were unchanged in April after falling 0.2% in March and increasing 1.6% in February and 1.1% in January.

The numbers were worse than markets had anticipated, indicating that consumers are skittish about spending their money.

Most private economists had predicted flat retail sales in April, with the more optimistic expecting a 0.5% advance for the month. The numbers, however, have proved to be both volatile and somewhat unreliable, since the Census Bureau has frequently revised them later.

According to the Census Bureau, auto sales fell 2.7% in April to $30.5 billion, after declining 0.2% in March and falling 1.7% in February.

The bureau said that April total retail sales were 3.4% above April, 1989, which would make them lower after adjusting for inflation. Sales in the February through April period were 5.2% above the same period a year ago, virtually flat after adjusting for inflation.

Total U.S. retail sales were unchanged in February and increased 2.8% in January.

In April, retail sales of durable goods--big ticket items designed to last three years or more--fell 1.6% from March. Non-durable goods sales were unchanged for the second consecutive month.