hurricanemaxi
Joined: 17 Sep 2011
Posts: 83
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 Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:05 pm Post subject: Retail Sales in U.S. Probably Rose in November on Holiday |
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Sales at retailers probably rose in November as Americans bought more new cars and shopped for the holidays, showing growth in the U.S. is picking up heading into 2012, economists said before a report this week.
The projected 0.6 percent gain in purchases would follow a 0.5 percent advance in October, according to the median forecast of 64 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of Commerce Department figures on Dec. 13. Other data may show factories expanded production and the cost of living was little changed.
The spending record set on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, known as Black Friday, may mark the beginning of a prosperous holiday season for stores as falling joblessness and rising stocks help lift pessimism. Gains in household purchases and steady prices mean Federal Reserve policy makers meeting this week can take time to determine if more stimulus is needed.
“Before Black Friday people were holding back, then they went all out,” said Chris G. Christopher, a senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “For the Fed, there have been some positive signs in recent months.”
Spending during the Thanksgiving weekend jumped 9.1 percent per customer from a year earlier to $398.62, according to the National Retail Federation. Holiday deals drew record crowds to Limited Brands Inc. and Macy’s Inc. (M), and November same-store sales for the more than 20 companies tracked by researcher Retail Metrics Inc. rose a combined 3.2 percent.
‘Meaningful Acceleration’
“We were positive throughout the month going into Thanksgiving and it only got better from there,” Timothy Johnson, senior vice president of finance at retailer Big Lots, said during a Dec. 2 earnings call. “We feel about as good as we can with the positive performance to begin, but also the acceleration, meaningful acceleration, we saw.”
The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Retailing Index has recovered from a plunge in stock values during October faster than S&P 500 Index. It was up 0.9 percent from Oct. 31 through Dec. 9, while the broader market has climbed 0.2 percent.
Car and light truck sales in the U.S. advanced in November to a 13.6 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate, the best month since August 2009, according to researcher Autodata Corp.
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