The Commerce Department report revealed a broad-based weakness in the American consumer sector. Following an unrevised 0.2% reading in June, the July figures fell significantly short of expectations. Annual growth also slowed to 5.0%, trailing the anticipated 6.0% mark and marking a deceleration from the previous month’s 6.7% increase.
Gold Prices Surge as U.S. Retail Spending Stumbles
A sharp 0.6% decline in U.S. retail sales for July caught markets off guard, triggering an immediate rally in gold prices. The unexpected contraction, which missed economist forecasts of a 0.1% gain, signaled cooling consumer demand and pushed spot gold to a session high of $4,387 per ounce.
Core sales, excluding the volatile automotive sector, mirrored this downward trend with a 0.3% decline. This result stands in stark contrast to the 0.2% gain that analysts had projected. Investors responded to the softer economic data by shifting capital into precious metals, with gold last trading at $4,380.88, reflecting a 0.68% gain for the session.
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