Page 34 - Jeff Berman News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Commerce reported that April retail sales—at $686.1 billion—were up 0.4% compared to March and were up 1.6% annually. And from February through April, it said retail sales increased 3.1% compared to the same period a year ago. NRF reported that April retail sales, which does not include automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants, were up 0.6% over March and were up 2% on an unadjusted basis annually. And on a three-month moving average through April, NRF said that retail sales were up 3.7% annually on an unadjusted basis.

Pittsburgh musician and filmmaker David Bernabo plays with language and gets sad, gently with his project Watererer.

While growth is expected to remain in the cards, for the manufacturing and services sectors, over the balance of 2023, it is no longer set to expand at the same rates as were previously indicated, according to the “Spring 2023 Semiannual Economic Forecast,” which was issued this week by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The Services PMI—at 51.9 (a reading of 50 or higher signals growth)—increased 0.7% over March’s 51.2, growing, at a faster rate, for the fourth consecutive month. ISM said that the services sector has seen growth in 34 of the last 35 months, with December 2022 being the one month with a decline.

The report’s key metric, the PMI, came at 47.1 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), marking a slight 0.8% gain over March’s 46.3, while contracting, at a slower rate, for the sixth consecutive month. The past six months of contraction, through April, were preceded by a stretch of 29 consecutive months of growth. ISM also said that the overall economy contracted, at a slower rate, in April, for the sixth consecutive month, which was preceded by 30 consecutive months of growth.