US retail sales up solid 0.3 pct. in April in hopeful sign
WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales rose at a solid pace in April, a sign that consumers may be rebounding from weak spending earlier this year and driving stronger economic growth.
Retail sales increased at a 0.3 per cent rate in April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, down from a 0.8 per cent gain in March, which was revised higher from 0.6 per cent. The spending gains were spread across most retail categories, with especially big gains at furniture and clothing stores.
Consumer spending has rebounded in the past two months after a weak January and February, a trend that could accelerate growth in the April-June quarter.
“Consumption growth is on track for a big rebound in the second quarter, which should push overall GDP growth up to more than 3 per cent,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. That would represent an improvement from the January-March quarter when the economy expanded at a 2.3 per cent annual rate.