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发帖数: 372 | 1 May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at U.S. retailers probably rose in April for a
seventh straight month, pointing to a rebound in consumer spending that is b
roadening the recovery, economists said before reports this week.
Purchases increased 0.2 percent in April, extending the most successive gain
s since 1999, according to the median estimate of 60 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg News before Commerce Department figures on May 14. Other reports m
ay show manufacturing picked up and the trade gap was little changed.
The biggest increase in payrolls in four years may be a harbinger of additio
nal gains as employers become more certain sales will grow, which in turn wi
ll lift wages and consumer spending further. Electronics stores may have led
retailers last month as Apple Inc. sold at least 1 million iPads.
“Retail sales are picking up because of income growth,” said Dean Maki, ch
ief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital in New York. “Consumption is going t
o be growing at a firm pace through the end of the year. We are in a sustain
able recovery now.”
Cupertino, California-based Apple said it sold out of all three versions of
the iPad 3g, which went on sale two weeks ago, at its retail stores in 13 U.
S. cities.
“Demand continues to exceed supply,” Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for App
le, said May 6. “We’re working hard” to provide iPads to additional custo
mers, she said.
Government Rebates
A remnant of last year’s government stimulus package may have also propelle
d sales of appliances last month, said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist
at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. Almost two-thirds of the $300 million t
he government allotted for state rebates on purchases of energy efficient ap
pliances became available last month, Feroli said in a May 3 note to clients
.
Florida’s rebate program ran out of funds in three days last month, while T
exas and Illinois ran through the money in a day, he said. The incentives ma
y boost core retail sales, which exclude items such as autos, building mater
ials and gasoline, by 0.3 percentage point, according to Feroli.
One reason Americans are spending may be that the employment outlook is brig
htening. Payrolls increased by 290,000 in April, the most in four years, acc
ording to figures from the Labor Department last week. Unemployment climbed
to 9.9 percent from 9.7 percent as thousands of jobseekers entered the workf
orce.
Less Broad-Based
The increase in April sales may have been less broad-based than in prior mon
ths. Chain stores reported the smallest increase in monthly sales since Nove
mber, industry figures showed last week. Demand was dragged down by teen-clo
thing retailers Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Aeropostale Inc., and an early E
aster, which boosted March sales at the expense of April.
The debt crisis in Europe also raises the risk that tumbling stock prices ma
y cause households to rein in spending. Shares have been pummeled the past t
wo weeks, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropping 8.7 percent since A
pril 23.
“Clearly, a blossoming labor market recovery is a big positive,” economist
s Paul Ashworth and Paul Dales of Capital Economics Ltd. in Toronto, said in
a note to clients last week. “But if equity and house prices continue to f
all, households will ramp up their savings to compensate for the loss of wea
lth, perhaps undermining consumption.”
For now, more jobs may trump the drop in stocks. The Thomson Reuters/Univers
ity of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment for May probably ros
e to 73.5 from 72.2 the prior month, according to the survey median. The fig
ures are due May 14.
Factory Gains
Manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy, continues
to expand. A Federal Reserve report May 14 may show production at factories
, mines and utilities climbed 0.6 percent in April, the tenth straight gain,
according to the survey median.
The need to replenish depleted inventories, combined with rising business sp
ending, is giving factories a lift. Stockpiles in the U.S. probably rose 0.4
percent in March, capping the first three-month gain since 2008, economists
said ahead of a Commerce Department report on May 14.
Finally, the trade deficit in March was probably little changed at $40 billi
on, compared with $39.7 billion the prior month, according to the survey med
ian before a May 12 report from the Commerce Department.
Bloomberg Survey
==============================================================
Release Period Prior Median
Indicator Date Value Forecast
==============================================================
Trade Balance $ Blns 5/12 March -39.7 -40.0
Federal Budget $ Blns 5/12 April -20.9 -20.0
Initial Claims ,000’s 5/13 8-May 444 440
Import Prices MOM% 5/13 April 0.7% 0.8%
Retail Sales MOM% 5/14 April 1.9% 0.2%
Retail ex-autos MOM% 5/14 April 0.9% 0.4%
Retail exauto/gas MOM% 5/14 April 0.7% 0.4%
Ind. Prod. MOM% 5/14 April 0.1% 0.6%
Cap. Util. % 5/14 April 73.2% 73.7%
U of Mich Conf. Index 5/14 May P 72.2 73.5
Business Inv. MOM% 5/14 March 0.5% 0.4%
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