High inflation and anxiety over a looming recession may have weighed down holiday spending in November.
The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by a sharp 0.6 percent in November, following a surge of 1.3 percent in October. The numbers are seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for price changes. On Tuesday, the Department of Labor said consumer prices were up 0.1 percent for the month.
Economists had expected a milder decline of 0.2 percent. In addition to economic anxiety, November sales may have been held back by a shift in shopping to earlier in the fall months that occurred during the pandemic and appears to be persisting in the post-pandemic era.
A measure considered “core retail sales”—which excludes automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services, fell 0.2 percent last month. The figure for October was revised to show a 0.5 percent increase instead of 0.7 percent gain previously reported, indicating that sales were slightly softer than expected.
The decline in retail sales cannot be attributed to lower gas prices. Gas station sales fell 0.1 percent as gas prices declined by 0.2 percent. Even excluding gas station sales, retail sales fell by 0.6 percent for the month.
A pullback on buying cars and trucks, however, was a driver of the decline, as sales fell 2.6 percent at auto dealerships. New vehicle prices were flat for the month, the Department of Labor said in a separate report released Wednesday. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, retail sales were down 0.2 percent. Car and truck purchases are frequently financed, making the category more interest-rate sensitive than many other areas of the economy. Housing is regarded as the most interest rate-sensitive sector because mortgage rates play a large role in home buying. more
Housing prices, retail sales, gasoline… all down. Government employment number over-inflated by a million jobs reported this morning.
Now, I’ll be impressed when the prices of beef, pork, chicken, eggs and grain products follow suit.
Did they stop calling it transitory or just redefine the word to mean permanent?
From what I’m seeing in my business:
There are still No Mid sized Commercial HVAC units avaliable. (month waits)
Still massive parts shortages. (Electronics diverted to War Production for the little Yuke Bastardo)
It could ALSO be that there is NOT as MUCH stuff to buy STILL. Tires for my trucks are also is short supply.
Remember, FOX CON was closed – less Apple shit as well.
So while I FULLY believe people are CUTTING BACK, I also believe shit is still in short supply. (that effects volume & now they can no longer price gouge as much)
Regardless FJB, FJT, & Fuck Janet Yellen, the stupidest economist in modern History
…on the other hand, I’m given to understand from a previous
thread that there’s going to be some tuna-scented secondhand Rolexes coming on the market pretty soon, so there’s that…
Looming recession? I thought we crossed that threshold months ago or is everybody playing the “let’s keep changing the definition until the word doesn’t mean anything anymore” game?
I ain’t buying anything.
I put some cash in my kids’ retirement accounts and I’ll pay for a nice dinner out that’s about it from me this Christmas.