Some disappointing news for the economy: The Commerce Department released figures yesterday showing that retail sales dropped by 0.5 percent in June, following on the heels of a drop of 0.2 percent in May. Not only does the reflect a slowdown in consumer spending - the engine that drives so much of our economy - but it also resulted in growing business inventories. They rose by 0.3 percent in May, signaling that business spending may slow in the coming months.
One bright spot in the Commerce figures: Auto sales continued to be strong in May, even as other purchases were declining. Cars and trucks sold at an annual rate of 14.1 million in June, up from 13.7 million in May.
Overall, though, these figures will put a damper on the GDP growth for the second quarter of 2012. The Commerce Department releases its first estimate of that number at the end of next week, on July 27. We'll be keeping an eye on it.
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