**MNI 5 Things: April US Retail Sales +0.3%, As Expected>

--5 Things We Learned From The April Retail Sales Data

By Kevin Kastner and Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

April retail sales report from the Commerce Department released 

Tuesday:               

     - April retail sales were up 0.3% in the month on target with 

analysts projections, but softer than the 0.5% gain expected in the 

whisper number. Motor vehicle sales posted a modest gain in the month 

rather than the decline expected, but sales outside of motor vehicles 

were softer than expected. Still, the data point to a solid start to 

second quarter PCE on the tax cuts and rising confidence. 

     - Excluding the 0.1% gain in motor vehicle sales, retail sales ex 

motor vehicles were up 0.3%, softer than the 0.5% rise expected but 

still getting the second quarter off to a good start. Sales growth was 

revised up for both February and March. Analysts have recently tended to 

overestimated retail sales in April, so today's data breaks that trend. 

However, the overestimate for sales outside of motor vehicles is in line 

with recent misses.  

     - April sales rose 0.3% ex. motor vehicle and gas, and were up 0.4% 

in the "control" group (ex auto, building materials, gas and food 

services), stronger than the headline figure, suggesting stronger 

underlying consumption for the month. 

     - Gas station sales rose, registering a 0.8% gain in the month 

(retail sales ex. gas +0.3%) and building materials rose by 0.4%, but 

food services were down 0.3%. The other categories were generally 

higher, but there were declines at health stores, electronics 

stores, and sporting goods stores. Clothing sales jumped 1.4%.

     - At an annualized rate, April total sales were up 3.3% from the 

first quarter average, based on an MNI calculation. Sales were up 

3.0% ex motor vehicles, and up 3.0% ex autos, building materials, gas, 

and food services, suggesting a much better start to second quarter 

consumption than in the first quarter. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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