Declining US Retail Sales
Stoke Fears About Economy.
Retail spending weakened
by 0.3 percent in September.
It is the first fall in retail sales
in seven months.
Economists had predicted that
September's retail numbers would rise.
Weaker retail numbers provide further evidence that weakness
in the manufacturing sector is
spilling over into other areas of
the economy, Jim Baird, CIO Plante Moran Financial Advisors, via Reuters.
Spending decreased online
for motor vehicles, hobbies
and building materials.
A 15-month trade war between
the U.S. and China — and cooling
job growth — are also thought to have
contributed to the September decline.
The numbers could lead the
Federal Reserve to implement more
interest rate cuts when it convenes its
policy meeting at the end of the month.
More than two-thirds of the
U.S. economy is comprised
of consumer spending