US retail and food services sales fell 0.6 percent in July from June, to 763.6 billion dollars, according to advance estimates released on August 14 by the US Census Bureau (release CB26-131). The drop came in well below the 0.1 percent month-on-month gain expected by economists, as reported by investingLive, and marks the first monthly decline after a run of positive readings.
Compared with July 2025, sales were up 5.0 percent. The May-to-June change was left unrevised at plus 0.2 percent, with June sales at 768.1 billion dollars; over the May-July period, sales rose 6.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The miss was broad. Excluding motor vehicles, sales fell 0.3 percent on the month against an expected rise of 0.2 percent. The "control group", which strips out autos, gasoline and building materials, declined 0.4 percent versus the 0.3 percent gain expected: according to investingLive, it was the first negative reading for the control group since September 2025.
