US Retail Sales to get hammered again in April due to coronavirus – Reuters poll

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The latest Reuters survey of economists is likely to show that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, registered a record drop for the second consecutive month in April due to the coronavirus hit on the economy.

Key takeaways

“Retail Sales probably collapsed 12.0% last month, which would be the second biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992. Retail sales plunged 8.7% in March.

Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales are forecast dropping 4.6% in April after a surprise 1.7% jump in March.

The US Retail Sales tumbled at a 7.6% annualized rate in the first quarter, the sharpest drop since the second quarter of 1980.”

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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