[overseas economy series] US retail growth remains high

Recently, according to the data released by the US Department of Commerce, the total retail sales in the United States after the quarterly adjustment in April 2022 recorded about US $677.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, higher than the pre epidemic level, up 0.9% month on month, the fourth consecutive month of growth. From the perspective of retail items, the month on month growth rate of sales of most categories decreased compared with March. On the one hand, grocery stores, motor vehicles and non store retail performed well, recording 4%, 2.2% and 2.2% respectively, with a month on month growth rate higher than that in March. On the other hand, fuel sales fell significantly, the month on month growth rate fell sharply from 9.7% in March to – 2.7%, and the month on month growth rate of clothing, daily necessities and food also fell. It is worth noting that the retail sales data has not been adjusted for inflation. Behind the high growth rate is the same high inflation level. The CPI of the United States recorded 8.3% year-on-year in April, down only 0.2% from the previous month, which is lower than the market expectation.