Retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell for a third month in June as limited employment gains took a toll on consumers, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The 0.5 percent drop followed a 0.2 percent decrease in May, Commerce Department figures showed yesterday. The retail figures prompted economists at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse to lower their forecasts for economic growth in the second quarter. A cooling job market is sapping the household spending that makes up 70 percent of the economy, curbing sales at retailers such as Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc. For more information on monthly retail sales figures, please see yesterday's ABI Chart of the Day.
http://news.abi.org/chart-of-the-day/retail-sales-decline-slightly-in-j…
