LIVE TV
ZEE Business
ZEE BUSINESS
हिंदी में पढ़ें  हिंदी में पढ़ें
Live TV
Live TV
  • Home
  • Budget 2021
  • Personal Finance
    • PPF
    • Mutual Funds
    • Income tax
    • EPFO
    • Income Tax Calculator
    • Personal Loan Calculator
    • Car Loan Calculator
    • Home Loan Calculator
    • SIP calculator
    • SWP Calculator
    • MF Returns Calculator
    • Lumpsum Calculator
  • India
    • Companies
    • Property
    • Startups
    • Uidai
  • Economy
    • Aviation
  • Tech
    • Mobiles
    • Apps
  • Auto
    • Cars
    • Bikes
  • Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currency
  • Jobs
  • Indian Railways
  • World
    • Economy
    • Politics
    • Markets
  • videos
  • photos
  • Authors
  • More ...
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
Read in App
Business News » World News

Hurricane Harvey slams U.S. retail sales, industrial production

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • whatapp
  • View in App
Updated: Fri, Sep 15, 2017
11:23 pm
Reuters
RELATED NEWS
Expert Views: BIG! India's retail inflation eases to 4.59% in December Expert Views: BIG! India's retail inflation eases to 4.59% in December
Budget 2021 Expectations – HOME BUYERS to benefit if Govt accepts this demand; JLL CEO lists following demands Budget 2021 Expectations – HOME BUYERS to benefit if Govt accepts this demand; JLL CEO lists following demands
Jobs, land prices, Covid-19 vaccine, rural India, household savings, NBFCs, banks, consumption, capex - Positives and Negatives | EXPLAINED Jobs, land prices, Covid-19 vaccine, rural India, household savings, NBFCs, banks, consumption, capex - Positives and Negatives | EXPLAINED
Economy, markets, FIIs, chemicals, IT and Pharma - Make money, as India powers to new highs | EXPLAINED    Economy, markets, FIIs, chemicals, IT and Pharma - Make money, as India powers to new highs | EXPLAINED
Setback for China – Trend reversing in favour of India; SFI lands big blow! Know here WHY! Setback for China – Trend reversing in favour of India; SFI lands big blow! Know here WHY!

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in August and industrial output recorded its biggest drop since 2009 as Hurricane Harvey disrupted activity, suggesting the storm could dent economic growth in the third quarter.

The storm, which lashed Texas in the last week of August, also has impacted the labor market. Economists, however, expect a rebound in the fourth quarter.

"Hurricane Harvey`s fingerprints were all over the August retail sales and industrial production reports this morning," said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco. The Commerce Department said retail sales dropped 0.2 percent last month, the biggest decline in six months. While Harvey weighed on sales in August, data for July and June were revised down.

Economists had forecast retail sales nudging up 0.1 percent.

Motor vehicle sales tumbled 1.6 percent last month, the biggest drop since January, after being unchanged in July. Harvey, which unleashed unprecedented flooding in Houston, probably cut into sales of automobiles.

Auto sales are, however, expected to get a boost from the replacement of flood-damaged vehicles. Overall retail sales increased 3.2 percent in August on a year-on-year basis, pointing to underlying strength in domestic demand.

The Commerce Department said while it could not isolate the impact of Harvey on retail sales, it had received indications from companies that the hurricane had "both positive and negative effects on their sales data while others indicated they were not impacted at all." Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and foodservices, retail sales fell 0.2 percent last month after anunrevised 0.6 percent increase in July. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Last month`s drop suggested consumer spending could slow in the third quarter.

In a separate report on Friday, the Federal Reserve said industrial production declined 0.9 percent in August. That was the biggest drop since May 2009 and followed six straight monthly gains.

The Fed attributed about 0.75 percentage point of the decline to storm effects that "temporarily curtailed drilling, servicing, and extraction activity for oil and natural gas."

U.S. stocks were largely flat in morning trading while prices of U.S. Treasuries were weaker. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies.CONSUMER SPENDING STILL STRONG

The weak retail sales and industrial output reports will probably do little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve will announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities at its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting.

The U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates again only in December. It has increased borrowing costs twice this year. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased at a 3.3 percent annualizedrate in the second quarter. That boosted GDP growth to a 3.0percent rate in the April-June period. Despite sluggish wage growth, even as the labor market nears full employment, the fundamentals for consumer spending are solid. The stock market is near record highs and house prices have maintained their advance, increasing household wealth.

Last month, sales at building material stores fell 0.5 percent after surging 0.9 percent in July. Clean-up efforts in the aftermath of Harvey as well as Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida last weekend, could buoy sales of building materials in September.

Receipts at service stations increased 2.5 percent in August, reflecting higher gasoline prices. Sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 0.7 percent and receipts at clothing stores dropped 1.0 percent after rising 0.5 percent in July. Department store retailers are struggling with fallingtraffic in shopping malls and increased competitionfrom Amazon.com and other online retailers. Sales at online retailers declined 1.1 percent in August, the biggest drop since April 2014. Receipts at restaurants and bars rose 0.3 percent and sales at sporting goods and hobby stores edged up 0.1 percent.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.

TAGS:
Economy
RELATED NEWS
Expert Views: BIG! India's retail inflation eases to 4.59% in December Expert Views: BIG! India's retail inflation eases to 4.59% in December
Budget 2021 Expectations – HOME BUYERS to benefit if Govt accepts this demand; JLL CEO lists following demands Budget 2021 Expectations – HOME BUYERS to benefit if Govt accepts this demand; JLL CEO lists following demands
Jobs, land prices, Covid-19 vaccine, rural India, household savings, NBFCs, banks, consumption, capex - Positives and Negatives | EXPLAINED Jobs, land prices, Covid-19 vaccine, rural India, household savings, NBFCs, banks, consumption, capex - Positives and Negatives | EXPLAINED
Economy, markets, FIIs, chemicals, IT and Pharma - Make money, as India powers to new highs | EXPLAINED    Economy, markets, FIIs, chemicals, IT and Pharma - Make money, as India powers to new highs | EXPLAINED
Setback for China – Trend reversing in favour of India; SFI lands big blow! Know here WHY! Setback for China – Trend reversing in favour of India; SFI lands big blow! Know here WHY!

LATEST NEWS

Good news for Airtel customers! This 100% free service to ensure safety from online payment fraud

Maruti Suzuki Jimny in India! Here is what automaker has just started doing - Get first look here

Budget 2021 Stocks With Anil Singhvi – Triple BONANZA for investors! Know why you should BUY Shalimar Paints, Sirca Paints, Kamdhenu

Get Rs 1 lakh monthly pension! Make money, just check this calculation and schemes

Proud moment for India, Telangana! Joe Biden inauguration speech writer is Indian-American Vinay Reddy - Top things to know

Larsen & Toubro Infotech CFO Ashok Kumar Sonthalia resigns

Divya Dutta comes aboard Kangana Ranaut-starrer 'Dhaakad'

PUBG Mobile India launch update: Relaunch in trouble? Check the reason here

Mid-cap Picks With Anil Singhvi: Adani Green Energy, ABB India, Aptech are Simi Bhaumik recommendations today

Mid-cap Picks with Anil Singhvi: Coromandel International, Bayer Crop and Bank of India are stocks to buy today

  • India News
  • World News
  • Companies News
  • Market News
  • Personal Finance News
  • Technology News
  • Automobile News
  • Small Business News
  • Income Tax Calculator
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Author
  • Rss Feed
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer

Latest Trending Updates

  • EPFO
  • Budget 2020
  • Income Tax Return
  • Auto Expo 2020
  • Home Loan
  • Business News

Trending Topics

  • Income Tax
  • income Tax Calculator
  • 7th Pay Commission
  • Reserve Bank of India
  • GST
  • Latest Business News

Follow us on

zeebiz
zeebiz

Partner Sites

  • Zee News
  • Hindi News
  • Marathi News
  • Bengali News
  • Tamil News
  • Malayalam News
  • Gujarati News
  • Telugu News
  • Kannada News
  • DNA
  • WION
Copyright © Zee Media Corporation Ltd. All rights reserved