Consumers Spring Back in May
06/16/2020
Stocks are soaring in early trading as May retail sales absolutely crushed all expectations. Sales surged +17.7% last month, more than doubling the median forecast, as consumers emerged in mass from the nationwide lockout and began spending at a furious pace. The record May increase follows a revised -14.7% April decline…which was also a record, and leaves retail sales just over 8% below pre-virus levels from earlier this year. Spending was brisk across all categories, although the percentage increases are exaggerated by the fact that spending in most categories had ground to a virtual halt in April.
