By Jeffry Bartash
Sales at retailers increase 0.3% in May
The numbers: Sales at retailers rose 0.3% in May and showed surprising strength in a sign of durability of the current U.S. economic expansion.
Sales had been forecast to drop 0.2%, based on a Wall Street Journal poll of economists.
Retail sales represent about one-third of consumer spending and offer clues about the strength of the economy. Overall consumer spending is still fairly strong and offers little evidence of a pending recession.
Big picture: Retail sales might not show much improvement this year, but they are holding steady despite higher interest rates. Rising rates have made it more costly to buy big-ticket items such as cars and houses.
At the same time, consumers have shifted more of their spending to services. Hotel stays, airplane flights and restaurant reservations have all returned close to pre-pandemic levels or better, to cite a few examples.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were set to open lower in Thursday trades.
-Jeffry Bartash
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-15-23 0848ET
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
