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I know we're supposed to be in the worst economy since the Great Depression, but no one told retail shoppers.

Retail sales climbed 1 percent last month, from a 0.2 percent drop in April, the Commerce Department said. Excluding autos, retail sales increased 1.2 percent in May, after a 0.5 percent rise in April. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey was for an increase of 0.5 percent in retail sales and 0.7 percent in sales excluding autos.

Sales at retailers may have been boosted by Americans spending their tax-rebate checks and by higher receipts at service stations, Bloomberg News surveys of economists show. The data helped fuel speculation accelerating inflation will make investors reluctant to bid at today's auction of 10-year notes.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury (^TNX) bumped up to 4.18% this morning which is the highest yield all year. Still, by the standard of the past few years, the yield is quite modest:

In the retail sector, Ross Stores (ROST) has been doing very well. The stock is up over 45% this year and the shares hit another new high today. Last week, the company reported that its same-store sales rose 7% in May.

Posted by edelfenbein at June 12, 2008 10:25 AM