Gold bars to be exempt from tariffs, White House clarifies
Investing.com - U.S. retail sales grew by more than anticipated in June, rebounding from two months of decline, thanks in part to an uptick in motor vehicle purchases.
Seasonally-adjusted retail sales rose by 0.6% month-over-month, reversing a 0.9% drop in May, according to data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Census Bureau. Economists had called for an increase in the data, which includes mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, of 0.1%.
Excluding autos and auto parts, the figure moved up by 0.5%, versus projections for a rise of 0.3%.
Clothing sales, which are often viewed as more sensitive to tariff changes, edged up by 0.9% compared to May, although this was offset by slightly decreases in purchases of home furnishings and electronics.
In separate releases on Thursday, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, an indicator of activity in the mid-Atlantic region and a possible signpost of the nationwide health of the manufacturing sector, returned to positive territory and a measure of first-time claims for unemployment insurance dipped slightly to 221,000.
Meanwhile, prices for imports and exports in June were mixed, with import costs expanding at a cooler-than-anticipated 0.1% month-on-month and export prices increasing 0.5%, compared to expectations that it would be flat.
The data deluge comes after reports this week suggested that sweeping U.S. tariffs may be starting to push consumer prices higher, particularly in goods that are seen as exposed to the levies. Still, services inflation has stayed relatively tepid.
Despite heavy lobbying from President Donald Trump for quick interest rate cuts, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has backed a wait-and-see approach to future borrowing cost changes, citing a desire to see how the tariffs are impacting the wider economy.
In a post on X, Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist at Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), said the odds of a Fed rate cut as soon as its September meeting are "down to about 50%." The central bank is widely expected to leave rates unaltered at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% at its next gathering later this month.