U.S. retail sales likely experienced a record rise in May as 2.5 million Americans went back to work, although any rebound will retrace only a fraction of the historic drops in March and April amid the coronavirus lockdowns.
FILE PHOTO: A shopkeeper works inside his retail store as the phase one reopening of New York City continues during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 9, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
While certainly an eye-catching bounce, it would retrace only about a quarter of the sales drop registered in the record back-to-back declines in the two previous months when widespread stay-at-home orders were imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Sales in April fell 16.4% after tumbling 8.3% in March.
“Given the bounce in job growth in May and the fact that some state economies started to re-open in the second half of the month, it’s reasonable to expect that spending partially rebounded in May,” NatWest economists Michelle Girard and Kevin Cummins wrote in a note to clients.The likely sales rebound was probably led by strong auto sales as the relaxing of lockdowns across the country allowed car dealership showrooms to reopen.
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