Retail sales rise for the third straight month with a 1.2% increase for July, and a 2.7% boost from the previous year, according to the US Census Bureau.
Although economists from Dow Jones had originally estimated a 2.3% jump, monthly sales for retail still came in at a total of $536 billion. May had the highest one-month sales increase of all time, followed by June where numbers also soared. These soaring numbers month-over-month show the evident pent-up consumer demand that was caused during the shutdown.
The past three months show that “consumer spending has rocketed to record highs,” said Chris Rupkey, Chief Financial Economist at MUFG Union Bank. “There can’t still be a recession in the country if the consumer is spending their hearts out like this.”
Source: US Census Bureau – Press Release, Retail Sales July – CNBC
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