**MNI 5 THINGS: August US Retail Sales Soft +0.1%, Autos Drop>

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

By Kevin Kastner

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

retail sales report from the Commerce Department released Friday:               

     - August retail sales rose only 0.1% in the month, below analysts 

projections for a 0.4% gain, and significantly under the 0.7% gain 

expected by markets, but an upward revision to July may temper market 

reaction a bit. Analysts had expected lower vehicle sales to offset 

higher gasoline station sales, but the decline in vehicle sales was 

larger than expected and was joined by the largest clothing sales 

decline since February 2017. 

     - Excluding a 0.8% decline in motor vehicle sales, retail sales 

were still up only 0.3%, compared with the 0.5% gain expected. The gains 

in overall sales and sales excluding motor vehicles were revised higher 

in July. 

     - August sales rose 0.2% ex. motor vehicle and gas, and were up 

0.1% for the "control" group (ex auto, building materials, gas and food 

services), both well below the rates seen in July. The underlying 

current of sales is still positive, but shows that July's torrid pace 

could not be repeated.

     - Gas station sales rose 1.7% in the month (retail sales ex. gas 

-0.1%), while building materials sales were flat and food services 

sales were up 0.2%. The key offsets were a 1.7% drop in clothing store 

sales and a 1.0% decline in department store sales.

     - At an annualized rate, average third quarter sales were up 5.3% 

from the second quarter average, based on an MNI calculation. Sales were 

up 7.1% ex motor vehicles, and up 4.7% ex autos, building materials, 

gas, and food services. The result should be another solid showing for 

PCE growth, pending the September sales results which could be impacted 

Hurricane Florence and other storms.

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

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