As retail sales of the USA They recovered in February, suggesting that the economy continued to grow in the first quarter, although at a moderate pace as the tariffs on imports and dismissals of federal government officials weigh on confidence.
Retail sales increased 0.2% last month, after a revised fall of 1.2% in January, the Department of Commerce said on Monday (17).
Economists consulted by Reuters provided that retail sales, which are mostly goods and not adjusted by inflation, would advance 0.6% after a 0.9% drop previously reported in January.
This decline occurred after major gains in the fourth quarter and winter storms in many parts of the country in January, as well as the forest fires in California.
However, with consumer confidence sinking to a minimum of almost two and a half years in March, the impulse is unlikely to be sustained.
President Donald Trump’s rate of tariffs, which triggered a trade war, lit concern for inflation, as well as loss of jobs and income, which can reduce consumer spending.
Public officials’ layoffs, as part of an unprecedented Trump government campaign to reduce the federal government, are also damaging spending.
Retail sales excluding cars, gasoline, construction materials and food services increased by 1.0% in February, after a revised drop of 1.0% in January. This reading corresponds more closely to the consumer spending component of Gross Domestic Product.
