Summary

• Retail sales rose by 0.5 percent in April, just shy of market expectations.
• Consumers were still increasing their spending (even in inflation adjusted terms) in April, despite the war with Iran and record low consumer sentiment.
• Weekly jobless claims remained at low levels (edging up to 211,000 for the most recent week), as did continuing claims.

By David W. Berson, Ph.D.

Retail sales rose by 0.5 percent in April, just shy of market expectations. This figure was held down by a small decline in auto spending (expected given the already reported slip in unit

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