U.S. Retail Sales Decline for Second Straight Month

Retail sales in the U.S. fell in May for a second straight month as slower employment and subdued wage gains damped demand, a sign the world’s largest economy is cooling. The 0.2 percent decrease followed a similar decline in April that was previously reported as a gain, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington, D.C. Last month’s drop matched the median forecast of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Sales excluding automobiles slumped by the most in two years.