Retails and foods services sales edged up again for the ninth time in ten months; during August 2013, the index inched up by 0.2% compared with July’s sales and was also well above the sales recorded during August 2012.
Yesterday, September 13th, the U.S. Department of Commerce (pdf file) published its monthly report on the shifts in the U.S. retail and food sales for August 2013.
This report adjusts for seasonal variances and holidays but doesn’t control for price shifts. In August, the U.S. retail and food sales reached $426.6 billion, which are 0.2% higher than the sales in July and 4.7% higher than in August 2012. This gain in retail sales might have slightly contributed to the moderate gain in stocks during yesterday’s trading.
Moreover, gasoline stations sales remained unchanged in August compared to July but were 0.4% above the sales in August 2012. This means the U.S demand for retail gas hasn’t progressed; it also means demand for energy commodities such as gasoline isn’t rising. This news may pull down the price of oil form the weaker growing demand for gasoline. Finally, the latest gain in the retail sales might suggest the U.S economy is slowly improving.
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