Retail sales in the United States increased more than expected in June, but the budding economic recovery is threatened by a resurgence of new Covid-19 infections and high unemployment.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales increased 7.5% last month. That was above the 18.2% jump in May, which was the biggest gain since the government began following the series in 1992. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that retail sales would advance 5% in June.
Retail sales have picked up as companies resumed operations after closing in mid-March in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. But new cases of respiratory illness have exploded, especially in the densely populated south and west, forcing some authorities in these regions to close businesses again or pause the reopening.
The uncertainty caused by the spiraling Covid-19 cases is hurting the recovery, which started in May, and could worsen already staggeringly high unemployment. The economy had already fallen into recession in February, before coronavirus-related closures began in the United States.
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