US retail sales increased by 0.5 % in May 2016
US Retail sales rose by 0.5% in May from a month earlier, the Commerce Department reported June 13, 2016, a larger increase than expected coming after April’s big, 1.3 % gain. Control sales—a gauge of the underlying pace of consumer spending that strips out auto dealer, gasoline station and building and garden store sales—rose 0.4 %. April’s gain in control sales was revised to 1 % from 0.9 %.
The sales strength added to evidence that the economy is bouncing back from a weak first quarter. Forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers, which a week ago estimated gross domestic product would grow at a 2.2 % annual rate in the second quarter, has raised its growth estimate to 2.6 %.