Investing.com – Although retail sales in the U.S. bounced back from what had initially been a decline in the prior month, it missed consensus estimates, underlining concern about consumer spending being able to push economic growth, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales rose 0.4% in April from the prior month, below forecasts for a gain of 0.6%. March retail sales increased 0.1%, whose figure was revised up from an initial 0.2% drop.
Rising retail sales over time correlate with stronger economic growth, while weaker sales signal a declining economy.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in April, below consensus expectations for a 0.5% advance. Core sales in the prior month were revised to a 0.3% advance from the prior flat reading.
Core sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of the government's gross domestic product report. Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with inflation data for the same month, the dollar turned lower. EUR/USD was trading at 1.0894 from around 1.0874 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2874, compared to 1.2846 previously, while USD/JPY was at 113.48 from 113.84 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.33, compared to 99.53 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open. The Dow futures fell 19 points, or 0.09%, the S&P 500 futures lost 3 points, or 0.14%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1 point, or 0.02%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,230.25 a troy ounce, compared to $1,227.98 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.94, compared to $47.88 prior to the release.