Retail Sales Show Sign of Recovering.
Retail Sales (April 2016)
– Retail Sales month/month +1.3%. Previous was -0.3%
– Retail Sales less autos month/month +0.8%. Previous was +0.4%
– Less Autos & Gas month/month +0.6%. Previous was +0.2%
Overall Sales recovered. Autos Sales which had been hammered in previous months recovered. Retail sales is the heart of GDP so this is a positive report. The 1stQ2016 was miserable for Retail Sales. To start producing decent GDP gains, we need the April trend to continue.
PPI-FD (April 2016)
– PPI-FD month/month +0.2%. Previous was -0.1%
– PPI-FD year/year +0.0%. Previous was -0.1%
– PPI-FD core (less food & energy) month/month +0.1%. Previous was -0.1%
– PPI-FD core (less food & energy) year/year +0.9%. Previous was +1.0%
– PPI-FD less food, energy & trade services month/month +0.3%. Previous was +0.0%
– PPI-FD less food, energy & trade services month/month +0.9%. Previous was +0.9%
Inflation on the wholesale level remains extremely tame.
Business Inventories (March 2016)
– Inventories month/month +0.4%. Previous was -0.1%
This is a 1stQ2016 GDP component.
Consumer Sentiment
– Sentiment Index 95.8. Previous was 89.0.
The is the University of Michigan Sentiment Index. It is supposed to measure the consumer’s predisposition to spend in the near future.