Retail sales in the United States climbed more than predicted in March, owing to a jump in e-commerce revenues. This demonstrated that the economy concluded the first quarter on a solid foundation.
Strong retail sales caused Goldman Sachs economists to raise their GDP growth forecast for the first quarter to 3.1%, annualized from 2.5%, reported Reuters.
The Commerce Department’s data on Monday, which came after news of solid employment gains in March and an increase in consumer prices, boosted predictions that the Federal Reserve would delay decreasing interest rates until September.
Last month, sales were buoyed by a 2.7% increase in online receipts, up from 0.2% in February, noted the report.
Ariel Ben Solomon is the Growth and Strategy manager at Ecomhunt. He is the host of the Ecomhunt Podcast. Can be followed on Twitter at @ArielBenSolomon
