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Shop Talk

Retailers, consumers and prices

August 13th, 2008

Check Out Line: The short-lived tax rebate boost

Posted by: Nicole Maestri
Tags: Shop Talk, , , , , , , ,

sale.jpgCheck out the fading influence of tax rebate checks.

Tax rebate checks helped boost June retail sales but their influence appears to have petered out by July, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The figures showed that total sales at U.S. retailers declined 0.1 percent in July, which was in line with forecasts made by Wall Street economists. A big reason for the drop was a fall off in auto sales. Auto and auto parts sales fell 2.4 percent in the month, their biggest drop since April, and were off a whopping 10.5 percent from year-ago levels. 

But excluding autos, retail sales were up 0.4 percent in July. That was roughly in line with forecasts, but down from a 0.9 percent rise in June. 

Economists said before the numbers were released that spending has been supported by government stimulus checks but that the stimulus effect was waning in July because most of the checks already have been issued. Meanwhile, prices for many food items are on the rise and there was only a slight moderation in gasoline prices during the month. 

The Commerce Department said gasoline sales in July were up 0.8 percent after a 4 percent June jump. But reflecting higher prices, gasoline sales were 24.6 percent higher than in July last year. 

Excluding gasoline, retail sales in July fell 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent June decline.

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(Photo: Reuters)

One comment so far

[...] One bright spot in retail sales numbers was in the sale of gasoline since last year at this time. Although the American Petroleum Institute reported that gasoline use has declined by more than 2 percent since last year at this time and the Federal Highway Administration said that Americans drove 12.2 billion fewer miles this June compared to last year, the rise in gas prices pushed sales up by 0.8 percent over last years figures. see stories- Bloomberg : U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Fell in July, Led by Autos Associated Press : Retail sales drop for first time in 5 months Reuters : Check Out Line: The short-lived tax rebate boost [...]

- Posted by bank run blog » Blog Archive » spending as slow as lending in foreclosure land

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