Declining US Retail Sales Stoke Fears About Economy. Retail spending weakened by 0.3 percent in September. It is the first fall in retail sales in seven months. Economists had predicted that September's retail numbers would rise. Weaker retail numbers provide further evidence that weakness in the manufacturing sector is spilling over into other areas of the economy, Jim Baird, CIO Plante Moran Financial Advisors, via Reuters. Spending decreased online for motor vehicles, hobbies and building materials. A 15-month trade war between the U.S. and China — and cooling job growth — are also thought to have contributed to the September decline. The numbers could lead the Federal Reserve to implement more interest rate cuts when it convenes its policy meeting at the end of the month. More than two-thirds of the U.S. economy is comprised of consumer spending
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