U.S.: Energy Relief Buoys Thanksgiving Sales‏

Published 11/30/2011, 08:50 AM
Updated 05/14/2017, 06:45 AM
The 2011 Thanksgiving holiday was a success for U.S. retailers. According to preliminary data, sales were up 16% from year-ago levels this year, a marked improvement from last year when sales had stagnated. What could explain this better-than-expected performance? Two factors come to mind. For one, there has been an improvement in labour markets in recent months – a development that should be yet again confirmed in the upcoming jobs report. For another, relief at the pump has been important with gasoline prices dropping to $3.30 gallon last week. As today’s Hot Chart shows, you have to go back to the start of the year to witness prices this low. By our calculations, the energy relief of the past few weeks translates into as much as $50 billion on an annualized basis. Earlier this year, consumers were spending $420 billion on gasoline, an amount that should now be closer to $370 billion.

Energy relief buoys Thanksgiving sales

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