The U.S. retail sector displayed remarkable resilience in July 2023, recording a robust 0.7% monthly surge in total sales, surpassing the anticipated 0.4% increase and building on June's upwardly revised 0.3% growth.
The advance estimates, released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday, mark the fourth consecutive months of growth, a streak unseen since April 2022.
Retail sales also outpaced expectations when compared to a year ago, with a 3.2% increase compared to the projected 1.5%. Core retail sales, excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services, exhibited a 1% rise for the month, accelerating from the prior 0.4%.
Nonstore retailers took the lead with a 1.9% surge in July, followed closely by sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores, which experienced a 1.5% uptick. Food services and drinking places also enjoyed a 1.5% increase.
A striking reversal was seen in gasoline stations, shifting from a 1.5% decline in June to a 0.4% rise in July, and building material, garden equipment and supplies dealers, bouncing back from a 3.7% slump in June to a 0.7% increase in July.
Motor vehicle and parts dealers, however, experienced a contrasting trend, with a 0.3% decline in July following a 0.7% surge in June. Meanwhile, furniture and home furniture stores remained among the weakest kind of businesses, marking a 1.8% dip for the month and a 6.3% decrease compared to the same period a year ago.
Market Reactions: Dollar Takes a Dip and Stocks Show Fragility
Market reactions to the higher-than-expected July retail sales figure were mixed.
After a brief and initial spike on the release, the dollar jumped higher before falling back and erasing all gains.
In Monday's session, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) rose 0.55%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) was up 1.12%.