US Retail Sales decline by 0.9% in May vs -0.7% expected

• Retail Sales in the US fell more than expected in May.
• The USD Index stays in a tight daily range near 98.00.

Retail Sales in the United States (US) declined by 0.9% in May to $715.4 billion, the US Census Bureau announced on Tuesday. This reading followed the 0.1% decrease (revised from +0.1%) recorded in April and came in worse than the market expectation for a contraction of 0.7%. On a yearly basis, Retail Sales were up 3.3%, compared to 5% in April.

"Total sales for the March 2025 through May 2025 period were up 4.5% from the same period a year ago," the press release read. "Retail trade sales were down 0.9% from April 2025, and up 3.0% from last year."

Other data from the US showed that Import Price Index was unchanged on a monthly basis in May, while Export Price Index was down 0.9%.

Market reaction

These figures don't seem to be having a significant impact on the US Dollar's (USD) performance. At the time of press, the USD Index was down 0.04% on the day at 98.10.

(The story was corrected on June 17 at 12:46 GMT to note that the April Retail Sales reading was -0.1%, not -1.5%)