Retail sales in the United States had a record growth of 17.7% between April and May, leaving behind three months of sharp falls, according to data released by the Department of Commerce of this country. According to this information and surpassing the most optimistic forecasts in the market, in May the sales of this segment reached a total of USD 485,000 million compared to the 412,600 registered in the month of April.
The news, an encouraging sign of a measured recovery in consumption, had a direct effect on the New York Stock Exchange, which started the week with a Dow Jones Industrial that closed 157.62 points more, or 0.6%, to close at 25,763.16, in turn the S&P 500 gained 0.8% to end the day at 3,066.59 and the Nasdaq advanced 1.4% to 9,726.02.
These data are in addition to the positive report regarding the employment rate in the United States, which in May added 2.5 million jobs and the measures announced by the Federal Reserve (FRS) to support the market during the pandemic. FRS actions include a $ 750 billion stimulus package for the purchase of individual corporate bonds.
Green numbers for the construction sector
Although experts do not expect this growth rate to repeat to the same extent in June and in the following months, it does signal optimism towards the revival of consumption. The figures for some sectors of the US economy are also encouraging and anticipate a picture of what may come for the economies of Latin America: in May, according to infobae, construction materials stores generated a monthly profit of 10.9 % and an annual growth of 16.4%. For its part, according to the same source, sales in non-store retailers, which includes internet companies such as eBay and Amazon, increased 9 % between April and May, and an increase of 30.8% compared to the year immediately previous.
