Financial News: U.S. Retail Sales Inch Up In Line With

U.S. Retail Sales Inch Up In Line With Estimates In April

05/15/2025 - 10:08:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a modest pullback in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still edged up by 0.1 percent in April after climbing by 0.8 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The uptick by ex-auto sales partly reflected a 1.2 percent jump in sales by food services and drinking places as well as a 0.8 percent increase in sales by building materials and garden equipment and supplies dealers.

"Retailers in the home improvement space are benefiting from strong demand for renovations and home improvements," said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial. "Given the abnormalities in the housing market, we should expect that to continue if the labor market holds."

He added, "Steady consumer incomes should support discretionary spending, adding to the likelihood that the Fed can stay on hold as long as growth prospects remain stable."

Sales by clothing and accessories stores, furniture and home furnishings stores and electronics and appliance stores also rose, while sales by sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores, department stores and miscellaneous store retailers fell sharply.

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