U.S. retail sales unexpectedly increased in August, likely boosted by back-to-school shopping and child tax credit payments from the government, which could temper expectations for a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter.
The surprise rebound in retail sales reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday defied slumping consumer confidence. Sales were driven by a surge in online purchases, which offset a continued decline at auto dealerships. But sales in July were much weaker than initially estimated.
They are holding up even as spending is shifting back from goods to services like travel and entertainment. Retail sales are mostly goods, with services such as healthcare, education, travel and hotel accommodation making up the remaining portion of consumer spending. The semiconductor crunch, which has been worsened by the latest COVID-19 wave, is also causing shortages of some electronic goods.
These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely to the consumer spending component of GDP. They were previously estimated to have dropped 1.0% in July. A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state jobless benefits rose 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000 for the week ended Sept. 11.
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