US retail sales fall sharply in May as Americans grow increasingly cautious

Sales down by 0.9%

US retail sales slumped by 0.9% in May as the rush to beat tariff-inflated prices subsided.

This drop was more than the 0.7% anticipated by economists polled by Reuters, as US retail and food sales dropped to $715.4bn, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.  US-tariff landscape shifts with increased levy on China as officials warn Trump of 'havoc' wrecking policies Total sales for March 2025 through to May 2025 were up 4.5% from the same period a year prior, while May 2025's figure was 3.3% higher than the level recorded during the same month last year.  Patrick O'Donnell, chief investment strategist at Omnis Investments, noted that the drop in retail sales...