Investing.com - Retail sales in the U.S. slipped more than expected for the first time in five months in August while the core number unexpectedly dropped, raising concern about consumer spending being able to push economic growth in the third quarter, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales dropped 0.3% from the prior month, compared to the forecast for a decline of 0.1%. July retail sales for increased 0.1%, whose figure was revised from an initial unchanged reading.
Rising retail sales over time correlate with stronger economic growth, while weaker sales signal a declining economy.
Core retail sales, which excludes automobile saless, unexpectedly fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in August, compared to forecasts for an advance of 0.2%. Core sales in July were revised to a 0.4% decline from the prior 0.3% drop
Core sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of the government's gross domestic product report. Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with weekly jobless claims, the September Empire State and Philadelphia Fed surveys and the producer price index for August, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1262 from around 1.1258 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3205 from 1.3186 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 102.22 from 102.19 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.21, compared to 95.28 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures moved higher ahead of the market open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.43%, the S&P 500 futures traded up 0.46%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.47%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,328.05 a troy ounce, compared to $1,326.25 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $43.92 a barrel from $43.94 earlier.