Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jul 10, 2007 14:25:01 GMT -6
Retail Sales continue to decline. Current dollar measures show little increase over last year. Moreover, when adjusted for inflation, there have been large declines in terms of the real dollar value of retail sales.
Below are excerpts from a Yahoo News story titled
U.S. wholesale inventories up, retail sales weaken
By Nancy Waitz
"Inventories of unsold goods at U.S. wholesalers rose 0.5 percent in May, boosted by a buildup in a range of goods including automobiles, metals and electrical supplies, government data showed on Tuesday.
At the same time, separate data showed weak retail sales as consumers cut back on spending amid higher gasoline prices and continued troubles in the housing market.
The value of inventories rose to $396.66 billion after a 0.3 percent gain in April, the Commerce Department said....
While wholesalers boosted their inventories, two separate reports on July underscored recent softness in U.S. retail sales.
RETAIL SALES WEAKEN
Redbook Research said same-store sales were up only 0.8 percent from a year ago in the week ended July 7, the last week in retailers' fiscal month of June and the worst performance in months....
"Sales were below plan in the final week of June, making for a disappointing, though not particularly surprising end to an underperforming month," Redbook Research said....
Wall Street economists expect the government measure to show sales gained only 0.1 percent last month...."
All these sale numbers are in current, non-inflation adjusted dollars. The "same-store-sales" increase of 0.8% in current dollars becomes a "real" (inflation-adjusted) decline of -1.9%, given a Consumer Price Index increase of 2.7% since May of 2006.
Below are excerpts from a Yahoo News story titled
U.S. wholesale inventories up, retail sales weaken
By Nancy Waitz
"Inventories of unsold goods at U.S. wholesalers rose 0.5 percent in May, boosted by a buildup in a range of goods including automobiles, metals and electrical supplies, government data showed on Tuesday.
At the same time, separate data showed weak retail sales as consumers cut back on spending amid higher gasoline prices and continued troubles in the housing market.
The value of inventories rose to $396.66 billion after a 0.3 percent gain in April, the Commerce Department said....
While wholesalers boosted their inventories, two separate reports on July underscored recent softness in U.S. retail sales.
RETAIL SALES WEAKEN
Redbook Research said same-store sales were up only 0.8 percent from a year ago in the week ended July 7, the last week in retailers' fiscal month of June and the worst performance in months....
"Sales were below plan in the final week of June, making for a disappointing, though not particularly surprising end to an underperforming month," Redbook Research said....
Wall Street economists expect the government measure to show sales gained only 0.1 percent last month...."
All these sale numbers are in current, non-inflation adjusted dollars. The "same-store-sales" increase of 0.8% in current dollars becomes a "real" (inflation-adjusted) decline of -1.9%, given a Consumer Price Index increase of 2.7% since May of 2006.