US retail sales growth undershoots forecasts in April

Americans splashed out less on consumer goods in April, primarily on furniture, clothing, general merchandise and food and beverages.

Total retail sales volumes in the States grew by 0.4% month-on-month to reach $474.9bn, according to the Department of Commerce.

In comparison to a year ago they were 4.7% higher.

Excluding automobiles and parts they were up by 0.3% to $97.14bn.

The median forecast from economists was for a rise of 0.6% on the month and an increase of 0.5% without automobiles and parts.

Autos and parts sales helped to prop up the headline number, rising by 0.7% on the month after a 0.5% drop in March.

The biggest percentage increases versus March were observed in sales of building materials, electronics and appliances, health and personal care and at non-store retailers.

Sales of furniture and home furnishing stores as well as those at clothing and clothing accessories were both lower, dropping by 0.5% in comparison to March.

After the data, Barclays Research inaugurated its Q2 tracking estimate for US gross domestic product growth at 2.5% in quarterly annualised terms.