Retail Sales Jump, Trade Gap Hits RecordWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Strong consumer demand and record gasoline prices pushed U.S. retail sales higher in May and propelled the U.S. trade deficit to a new record in April, a pair of government reports said on Monday.
Retail sales rose a greater-than-expected 1.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted $335.8 billion, the Commerce Department (news - web sites) said. Gasoline sales increased 4.0 percent, the biggest gain since February 2003. Gasoline prices hit a record weekly high in the United States in late May.
Sales of autos and auto parts increased 2.7 percent, while sales of clothing, food, and health and personal care products also showed gains.
"Clearly the consumers are buying everything that isn't nailed down," said Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi in New York. "They're buying both imports and at specialty (stores) and autos as well."
A second Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly in April to a record $48.3 billion, as strong consumer demand and the highest oil prices in 21 years pushed imports to a record $142.3 billion. At the same time, exports tumbled slightly from March....
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040614/us_nm/economy_dc_3
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