by Calculated Risk on 5/15/2012 08:47:00 AM

On a monthly basis, retail sales were up 0.1% from March to April (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 6.4% from April 2011. From the Census Bureau report:

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $408.0 billion, an increase of 0.1 percent from the previous month and 6.4 percent above April 2011.

Ex-autos, retail sales also increased 0.1% in April.

Click on graph for larger image.

Sales for March was revised down to a 0.7% increase from 0.8%, and February was revised down to 1.0% from 1.1%.

This graph shows retail sales since 1992. This is monthly retail sales and food service, seasonally adjusted (total and ex-gasoline).

Retail sales are up 23.1% from the bottom, and now 7.7% above the pre-recession peak (not inflation adjusted)

The second graph shows the same data since 2006 (to show the recent changes). Excluding gasoline, retail sales are up 19.4% from the bottom, and now 7.3% above the pre-recession peak (not inflation adjusted).

The third graph shows the year-over-year change in retail sales and food service (ex-gasoline) since 1993.

Retail sales ex-gasoline increased by 6.4% on a YoY basis (6.4% for all retail sales). Retail sales ex-gasoline increased 0.2% in April.

This was at the consensus forecast for retail sales of a 0.1% increase in April, and below the consensus for a 0.2% increase ex-auto.



All current retail sales graphs