March Retail Sales Surge
April 14, 2010
The U.S. economy continues to show signs of improvement as March retail sales handily beat analyst expectations and posted their strongest gain in four months. The U.S. Commerce Dept. this morning reported that retail sales in March rose by 1.6 percent, higher than the 1.3 percent forecast by economists. The increase was led by auto sales, which posted a 6.7 percent gain. However, other retailers showed strong results as well, including clothing stores, which saw sales jump by 2.3 percent.
The robust sales numbers provided a boost to several clothing retailer stocks held in the model Age Curve Master Portfolio, leading some to new 52-week highs, including Children's Place Retail Stores (PLCE), Aeropostale (ARO), and Skechers USA (SKX).
The Commerce Dept. also revised February retail sales upwards to 0.5 percent from the previously reported 0.3 percent, a surprise to many economists as sales were expected to be impacted by the disruption caused by that month's heavy snowfalls.
In other news the U.S. Labor Dept. this morning reported that consumer prices only rose 0.1 percent in March and that core prices held steady. This gives the Federal Reserve continued leeway to maintain interest rates at their record lows.
U.S. markets, naturally, reacted positively to the news, with the DOW gaining about 0.5 percent; the Nasdaq about 1.23 percent; and the S&P 500, 0.7 percent as of mid-day.
