$ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF (SQQQ.US)$ Consumers spend...
Consumers spending pulled back sharply in May, weighed down by declining gas sales and looming unease over where the economy is headed, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
Retail sales declined 0.9%, even more than the 0.6% drop expected from the Dow Jones consensus, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. The decline followed a 0.1% loss in April and came at a time of unease over tariffs and geopolitical tensions. Sales rose 3.3% from a year ago.
Excluding autos, sales fell 0.3%, also worse than the estimate for a gain of 0.1%.
However, excluding a series of items such as auto dealers, building materials suppliers, gas stations and others, sales increased 0.4%. That reading, known as the control group, is what the department uses when calculating gross domestic product.
Sales have been generally slow through the year, though spending peaked in March as consumers sought to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s April “liberation day” tariff announcement.
Building materials and garden stores saw sales fall 2.7%, while sliding energy prices pushed gasoline station receipts down 2%. Motor vehicles and parts retailers were off 3.5%, while bars and restaurants saw sales decline 0.9%.
On the plus side, miscellaneous retailers gained 2.9%, while online sales rose 0.9% and furniture stores increased sales by 1.2%.
Stock market futures held negative after the release while Treasury yields also fell.
“Americans bought cars in March ahead of tariffs and stayed away from car dealerships in May. Families are wary of higher prices and are being a lot more selective with where they spend their money,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “People are hunting for deals and aren’t eager to buy unless they see a good one.”
The pullback in retail sales came despite surveys showing that consumer sentiment actually improved in May, though compared with levels that had been falling through the year. The ongoing trade war ignited by President Trump’s tariffs had dented consumer and business optimism, though an easing in some of the rhetoric amid a 90-day negotiating period has led to better readings.
GDP declined at a 0.2% annualized pace in the first quarter but is projected to rebound. Second-quarter growth heading into the retail sales release was pegged at 3.8%, according to the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow tracker of rolling data. The gauge will be updated later Tuesday.
In other economic news Tuesday, import prices were flat against a forecast for a 0.1% decline, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Export prices fell 0.9%.
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Deep Sea OP : US economy is slowing down or heading for recession.
Warren Buffed : bad data means fed can cut rate lo
Deep Sea OP Warren Buffed : May not cut rate if inflation is high and growth is slow. Stagflation scenario.
JaydenTan : Today , announcing rate cut ?
b00n79 JaydenTan : Tomorrow
JaydenTan b00n79 : No wonder , flowing direction is like this - Aimlessly
b00n79 JaydenTan : But many forecast already stated no cut due to uncertainty
JaydenTan b00n79 : What I see is tmr SQQQ has chance going higher. If it can't, really gone case liao
暗号 JaydenTan : Pay attention to Tesla; waiting for it to peak and fall back may signal the beginning of a crash.
JaydenTan 暗号 : This uptrend should continue till Powell announcement. To decide continue up or reverse. Best of luck to us, Buddy!![[undefined]](https://static.moomoo.com/nnq/emoji/static/image/default/default-black.png?imageMogr2/thumbnail/36x36 "undefined")