Wednesday May 13, 02:09 PM
US retail sales fall in April
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US retail sales fell 0.4 percent in April, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, in a report showing ongoing caution among consumers in the face of recession.
The retail sales index, which is seasonally adjusted but not for price changes, was 10.1 percent below the April 2008 level.
The April decline surprised most analysts, who had expected no change from March sales.
The Commerce Department said that retail sales dropped a revised 1.3 percent in March, up 0.1 percentage point from the initial estimate.
The monthly retail sales data highlight the direction of a key motor of the world's largest economy, consumer spending, which normally drives two-thirds of output.
April marked the second consecutive month of a decline in retail sales, after two months of increases that had snapped a six-month pullback last seen in the early 1980s.
"This is a disappointing report," said Ian Shepherdson at High Frequency Economics.
"There is no momentum in spending; the freefall is over but shredded balance sheets and declining incomes mean a broadly flat trend is about the best we can expect," he said, adding "greens shoots withering."
Excluding food, April retail sales fell 0.4 percent.
Automobile sales, which have tanked amid the recession, rose 0.2 percent in April but remained 20.7 percent below the year-ago level.
Excluding auto sales, the retail sales index dropped 0.5 percent in April after a sharper 1.2 percent decline in March.
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