US retail sales recorded a surprise drop in May, breaking a seven-month stretch of solid increases and signalling that the US consumer remains stubbornly cautious.
Sales fell by 1.2 per cent last month compared with April, commerce department figures showed yesterday, failing to meet economists' expectations of a continued rise. Purchases were pulled back by a drop in demand for building materials and by customers delaying purchases of summer clothes.
Retail sales have been climbing steadily in the last year, and the May figures still represented a 6.9 per cent increase from May 2009, with more confident consumers spending on discretionary items. But yesterday's figures marked the sharpest monthly decline since last September.
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