Consumer Lack Of Confidence: Retail Sales Fall For First Time Since January

Retail sales declined in the U.S. during the month of September even when factoring out weakness at auto dealers and gasoline stations, a sign of weak consumer demand and spending.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that total retail sales fell 0.3 percent during the month. The drops in receipts at gasoline stations and auto dealers was a clear drag on the month’s reading.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a fall in retail sales, as auto production slowed and oil prices have fallen sharply in recent months. The two pieces of data are ominous signs of a slowdown in global economic growth.

The so-called core sales, which strip out automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, and correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product was expected to increase. However, it fell 0.2 percent in September.

Sales at clothing retailers also dropped 1.2 percent and receipts at sporting goods shops fell 0.1 percent. However, sales at electronics and appliance stores, actually increased 3.4 percent, even as receipts at building materials and garden equipment suppliers fell 1.1 percent.

Receipts at auto dealerships and service stations both fell 0.8 percent.

Retail sales account for a third of consumer spending.