Happy times for US retail

May has brought respite to the parched retail sector in the US. Reports say that the retail sales in the US increased during the month by 3.8 percent, which does not account for the spends on automobiles, gas stations and restaurants. The increase was unadjusted over last year and 0.9 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month, according to National Retail Federation (NRF).

The NRF states that consumers mainly concentrated on basic shopping of grocery items, while some dig into more shopping. This is attributed to the tax rebate checks consumers received last month according to NRF chief economist Rosalind Wells.

Also, the total retail sales for the month as released by the U.S. Commerce Department, increased by 1 percent seasonally adjusted from the previous month and by 3 percent unadjusted year-over-year. These figures includes non-general merchandise categories like autos, gasoline stations and restaurants)

There was an indulgence of spending at the electronic and appliance stores, which increased by 0.7 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and a solid 4.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Clothing and clothing accessory stores sales increased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted from April and 2.4 percent unadjusted from last May. Nigel Gault, chief US economist with Global Insight said that “If we combine the May news with the historical revisions, overall real consumer spending for the second quarter is now tracking at around 2 percent real growth, rather than the 0.7 percent rate that we expected previously".