Slight Decline In U.S. Retail Sales Forecast For September

(IDEX Online News) – Sales at U.S. retailers are expected to have declined slightly in September – however not due to consumer concerns about the economy.

Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast that sales declined by 0.2 percent last month, with the main reason being a slowdown in auto sales after a big jump in August. Cars and trucks account for about 20 percent of all retail sales.

In addition, U.S. consumers paid less to fill their cars, with the average cost of a regular gallon of gas dropping.

Less spending at gas stations is a boost for U.S. households, with economists at Deutsche Bank estimating that American consumers could receive an extra $40 billion in cash if prices hold steady at $3.30 per gallon.