The Commerce
Department informed on Tuesday that sales at U.S. retailers jumped by 0.7 per cent m-o-m in November,
following an upwardly revised 0.5 per cent m-o-m increase (from +0.4 per cent m-o-m) in October. This marked the third straight monthly advance
in retail sales.
Economists had forecast
total sales would rise 0.5 per cent
m-o-m in November.
According to
the report, the November climb
in the total retail sales was underpinned by increases in 7 of all 13 retail
categories, led by motor vehicle and parts dealers (+2.6 per cent m-o-m), and non-store
retailers (+1.8 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, miscellaneous store retailers (-3.5
per cent m-o-m), and food services and drinking places (-0.4 per cent m-o-m)
demonstrated the largest decreases in retail sales in November.
Excluding auto,
retail sales also increased 0.2 per cent
m-o-m in November after an upwardly revised 0.2 per cent uptick m-o-m (from +0.1
per cent m-o-m) in the previous month, missing economists’ projection of a 0.4 per cent
m-o-m gain.
In y-o-y terms,
U.S. retail sales surged 3.8 per cent in November after an upwardly revised 2.9
per cent advance (from +2.8 per
cent) in the previous month. This represented the strongest annual increase since
December 2023 (+5.5 per cent).