Retail sales drop unexpectedly in April

[thundley4]

WASHINGTON – Retail sales fell for a second straight month in April, a disappointing performance that raised doubts about whether consumers were regaining their desire to shop. A rebound in consumer demand is a necessary ingredient for ending the recession.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales fell 0.4 percent last month. Many economists had expected a flat reading, and the April weakness followed a 1.3 percent drop in March that was worse than first estimated.
Retail sales had posted gains in January and February after falling for six straight months, raising hopes that the all-important consumer sector of the economy might be stabilizing. But the setbacks in March and April could darken some forecasts because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.
The hope had been that consumers were starting to feel better about spending, helped by the start of tax breaks included in the $787 billion stimulus bill. Households had spent the fall hunkered down in the face of thousands of job layoffs and the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.
The latest retail data "are yet another illustration that, although the worst is now over, there is still no evidence of an actual recovery," Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics in Toronto, wrote in a research note.

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I think people aren't buying much, because they are too uncertain about the future tax policies that are going to drain away that "tax break" they  got under the stimulus plan.

[md11hydmec]

Well, considering that we'll be taxed on the "tax break" at the end of the year, I'm not spending extra money that much.  Its going into a liquid account.

[DumbAss Tanker]

There's a lot of "Hunker in the bunker" going on, as for me I haven't been spending much beyond necessities for quite awhile, trying to pay off debt rather than acquire more stuff so I can retire without being strapped in a couple of years.