Retail Sales Outperform Expectations in June
The U.S. Commerce Department released June retail sales figures on Thursday that beat estimates, soaring 7.5% after an 18.2% jump in May, the biggest gain ever. While that shows great signs of a continued economic recovery, new shutdowns related to the surge in COVID-19 cases and continued high unemployment claims may slow the gains.
The biggest increases in retail came from clothing, which was up 105% from May, but was still down 23% from the prior year. Other big winners were electronics/appliances, which gained 37%, furniture/furnishings (up 33%), and sporting goods/hobbies/music/books (27% higher). That last segment also had the biggest increase (21%) from last year.
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Source Fool.com
