Economic Headlines for June 14 2011 ( Tuesday ).
Retail Sales fall less than expected, Producer Price Index rose 0.2 percent in may, Business Inventories rose in April
1) Retail sales, fell for the first time in 11 months, although the decline was less than expected. Total retail sales slipped 0.2 percent, according to the Commerce Department. Economists had forecast retail sales falling 0.4 percent, according to Reuters.
2) The Producer Price Index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, increased 0.2 percent in May, according to the Labor Department, down sharply from a 0.8 percent rise in April and a 0.7 percent increase in March.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the core index also increased 0.2 percent, driven by higher prices for plastics, clothing and new cars. The core index has risen 2.1 percent in the past year.
3) U.S. business inventories rose modestly in April amid a small increase in stocks of motor vehicles, a government report showed on Tuesday.
The Commerce Department said inventories increased 0.8 percent to $1.50 trillion, the highest level since October 2008, after increasing by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inventories rising 0.9 percent after a previously reported 1.0 percent increase in March.
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