US retail sales edge up slightly in May

Americans kept their purse strings nearly closed in May.

According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms retail sales edged up at a month-on-month pace of 0.1% to reach $703.9bn (consensus: 0.2%).

That followed a two tenths of a percentage point downwards revision to April's reading to -0.2%.

Nonetheless, that did not keep them from spending 0.8% more on motor vehicles and parts or at non-store retailers.

Gasoline station sales dropped by 2.2% over the month, alongside a 1.1% decline in those of furniture and a 0.8% drop in those of building materials.

Commenting on the latest figures, Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, said that the "soft May retail sales data support our view that, after a disappointing first quarter, GDP growth remains a little lacklustre in the second quarter too."

Ashworth did note the 0.4% month-on-month rebound in the retail sales control group, but conceded that April's decline was revised to show a "severe" 0.5% fall.

-- More to follow --