Retail Sales Up 1.0% May 2008

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $385.4 billion, an increase of 1.0 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 2.5 percent (±0.7%) above May 2007. Total sales for the March through May 2008 period were up 2.6 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The March to April 2008 percent change was revised from -0.2 percent (±0.5%)* to +0.4 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were up 1.0 percent (±0.7%) from April 2008 and were 2.2 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Gasoline station sales were up 13.8 percent (±2.1%) from May 2007 and sales of nonstore retailers were up 10.0 percent (±2.1%) from last year.