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Retail sales edge up
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September 15, 1998: 9:13 a.m. ET
August figures fall short of estimates as auto sales fail to rebound
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Retail sales staged a slower-than-expected recovery in August as car sales failed to rebound significantly after the settlement of two strikes at General Motors Corp., the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
Overall August retail sales climbed 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted $224.8 billion, compared with a revised 0.6-percent drop in July. Excluding autos, retail sales were up 0.3 percent from July.
Economists had forecast an overall 0.5-percent increase in August and a 0.2-percent jump excluding autos.
July's decline was the first since last October, due mostly to a staggering drop in auto sales because of the 54-day GM (GM) strikes. Economists had been expecting stronger August figures in light of the end of those strikes.
The bond market was up on the news. The benchmark 30-year Treasury gained 11/32 in price for a yield of 5.20 percent.
Kathleen Camilli, chief economist at Tucker Anthony, told CNNfn that while August's retail sales figures were disappointing, they don't necessarily indicate the economy is slowing significantly.
"People may be trying to pull back a little because of the impact of the stock market, but I'm not looking for growth to slip dramatically," she said. "You have to remember that we had 5-percent growth earlier this year. I'm looking for growth to slip to maybe 2.2 percent in the third quarter and 3 percent in the fourth quarter, so it's still robust growth."
Auto sales, which typically account for one-quarter of all retail sales, fell 0.2 percent to $53.9 billion, compared with a 4.1-percent slide in July.
Sales of durable goods -- high-priced items designed to last at least three years -- remained unchanged from July's $93.3 billion. Sales of nondurables, however, increased 0.3 percent to $131.5 billion.
Sales in the apparel sector jumped 1.2 percent to $10.6 billion, while gasoline sales slipped 0.9 percent to $12.6 billion. 
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