Retail sales slips in May, weaker than expected; April revised down

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May Retail Sales: -0.3% M/M vs. +0.1% expected and +0.7% prior (revised from +0.9%).

Y/Y, the month's retail sales rose 8.1%. Total sales for the March 2022 through May 2022 period rose 7.7% from the same period a year ago.

Ex-gas and autos: +0.1% M/M vs. +0.5% expected and +0.8% prior (revised from +1.0%).

Retail sales (less autos) +0.5% M/M vs. +0.7% expected and +0.4% prior (revised from +0.6%).

Retail Sales control group: 0.0% M/M vs. +0.5% expected and +0.5% prior (revised from +1.0%).

Not surprisingly, gasoline stations' sales surged 43.2% from a year ago, and food services and drinking places (i.e., restaurants and bars) climbed 17.5% Y/Y.

With the retail sales control group flat in May and April's figure revised down, "2Q GDP estimates will be revised downward again," said Christophe Barraud, chief economist and strategist at Market Securities.

Note that the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model estimated Q2 GDP at +0.9% as of June 8. It will revise its estimate later Wednesday.

Earlier this week, U.S. consumers expect purchasing power to continue to fall, NY Fed survey says