Washington, DC, May 13--Retail sales retreated more than expected during April, pulled back by an auto sector decline, the government said in a report that boosted the prior month's surprising surge in consumer demand.
Retail sales fell 0.5% last month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Sales in March were revised higher to show a 2.0% gain; initially, sales for that month were estimated as jumping 1.8%.
Driving down sales in April was a 1.8% tumble in auto demand. Without auto, overall retail sales would have gone down by just 0.1%.
Gasoline service stations sales advanced a modest 0.2%, after rising 1.2% in March. Energy costs have been climbing. This week, the government's Energy Information Administration said average U.S. regular gasoline price rose to an all-time high $1.94 a gallon at the pumps. Without gas sales, overall retail sales would have still fallen by 0.5%, the Commerce Department data showed.
Retail sales were weaker than expected. A Dow Jones Newswires-CNBC survey of 22 economists had projected sales dropping 0.2%.
The monthly retail sales data are closely watched by the financial community because the numbers provide an indication of consumption in the U.S. Consumer spending plays an important part of U.S. economic growth. In fact, it makes up two-thirds of gross domestic product.
