U.S. retail sales fall in August

U.S. retail sales fell in August for the first time in five months, a sign that American consumers were cautious about stepping up spending, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Retail sales edged down 0.3 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 456.3 billion U.S. dollars in August, the Commerce Department said. It was the first monthly decline since March. But compared with a year earlier, total retail sales rose 1.9 percent.

Purchases of motor vehicle and parts fell 0.9 percent in August, while sales at sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores declined 1.4 percent. Sales at online retailers, furniture and building material stores also declined last month. Excluding the volatile auto sales, total retail sales declined 0.1 percent in August.

As consumer spending was a major driver of U.S. economic growth in the second quarter this year, Thursday's retail sales data might suggest a potential cool down of consumer spending and economic growth in the third quarter.

That will make Federal Reserve officials reluctant to hike interest rates at their Sept. 20-21 policy meeting.

Fed governor Lael Brainard on Monday called for taking a prudent approach to further increasing interest rates, suggesting that the Fed should wait for more evidence of sustained inflation before another rate hike. Enditem