Retail sales unchanged in June
May retail sales gain revised up to 0.3 from 0.1
Core retail sales surge 0.9; May data unrevised

WASHINGTON, July 16 Reuters U.S. retail sales were unchanged in June as a drop in receipts at auto dealerships was offset by broad strength elsewhere, a display of consumer resilience that bolstered economic growth prospects for the second quarter.

The betterthanexpected report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed sales in May were higher than initially estimated. It did not change expectations that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates in September amid cooling inflation and helped to assuage fears of a sharp slowdown in the economy.

The economy is in pretty good shape, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank. There are signs of softness around the edges where low and moderateincome consumers are pulling back … but openhanded spending by affluent consumers is keeping the economy as a whole moving forward.

The unchanged reading in retail sales last month followed an upwardly revised 0.3 gain in May, the Commerce Department39;s Census Bureau said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, would fall 0.3 after a previously reported 0.1 gain in May.

Retail sales increased 2.3 on a yearonyear basis in June. Momentum has, however, slowed from the 7.7 gain logged in January 2023. After a period of high inflation, households…