{"id":2212,"date":"2026-06-17T13:41:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2026-06-17T13:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:41:34","slug":"us-retail-sales-beat-expectations-in-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2212","title":{"rendered":"US retail sales beat expectations in May"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in May, but a slowdown is likely as the cushion from larger tax refunds against higher prices diminishes.<\/div>\n
Retail sales jumped 0.9% last month after \u200ba downwardly revised 0.4% gain in April, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on \u200cWednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, rising 0.5% after a previously reported 0.5% increase in April.<\/div>\n
Some of the rise in sales last month reflected higher \u200bgasoline prices, which lifted receipts at service stations.<\/div>\n
Gasoline prices surged to four-year highs amid \u200bthe U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. They have since retreated, with the national retail average \u2060slipping below $4 a gallon this week for the first time since April.<\/div>\n
The U.S. and Iran on \u200bSunday said they had agreed terms to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tax refunds \u200bhave combined with a stock market rally to underpin spending, which also came at the expense of savings. The saving rate dropped to a four-year low in April.<\/div>\n
The retail sales data likely has no impact on monetary policy, \u200bwith the Federal Reserve later on Wednesday expected to keep the U.S. central bank’s benchmark overnight \u200binterest rate in the 3.50% to 3.75% range. While the odds of a rate hike have increased as \u200cprice pressures \u2060rise, economists do not anticipate policy tightening this year, pointing to easing oil prices.<\/div>\n
Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services increased 0.7% in May after an unrevised 0.5% advance in April. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic \u200bproduct.<\/div>\n
The tax filing season is \u200bover and a \u2060big chunk of the refunds is depleted. Economists at PNC Financial said an analysis of internal data showed “households are spending down refunds more quickly than \u200bin prior years, with higher gas outlays accounting for much of the \u200bdifference.”<\/div>\n
They added that \u2060this was “especially pronounced for households in the bottom quartile by refund size, which have drawn down more than 60% of their refunds in 2026 versus 43% at the same point last year.”<\/div>\n
Consumer spending, which \u2060accounts for \u200bmore than two-thirds of the economy, increased at a \u200b1.4% annualized rate in the first quarter. The economy grew at a 1.6% pace last quarter. The Atlanta Fed’s GDP tracker \u200bshows the economy growing at a 2.8% pace this quarter.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in May, but a slowdown is likely as the cushion from larger tax refunds against higher prices diminishes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-2212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-macro-matters"],"yoast_head":"\nUS retail sales beat expectations in May - Reliable Moving Crews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2212\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US retail sales beat expectations in May - Reliable Moving Crews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in May, but a slowdown is likely as the cushion from larger tax refunds against higher prices diminishes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2212\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reliable Moving Crews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T13:41:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24\"},\"headline\":\"US retail sales beat expectations in May\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T13:41:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4048d8cecff4556cd679a7fbab55f561.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Macro Matters\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=2212\",\"name\":\"US retail sales beat expectations in May - 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