Retail sales tumble

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.

U.S. retail sales fell 1.1 percent in June, the biggest decline since February of last year, underscoring forecasts that consumer spending slowed in the second quarter from the previous three months.

The decline reflected a drop in spending at automobile dealerships and department stores and followed a revised 1.4 percent increase in May, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Economists had forecast a 0.8 percent decline.

Gasoline prices, which held above $2 a gallon on average in May and June, limited sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. at the same time that autos sold at the slowest annual rate in six years.

Job growth and the related income gains are needed to boost spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, economists said.

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