FedUpUSA

Nothing good in here…

Service sector activity slowed in May, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Retail sales dwindled as shopper traffic dropped sharply; big ticket sales remained in decline. Revenues also weakened at non-retail services firms. Looking ahead six months, retail merchants pulled back from their optimism of a month ago. Non-retail services providers maintained a positive outlook, but were less upbeat than in April.

Service sector revenues softened in May, pulling the index to 9 from 28.

Yucko.

The internals were NASTY on retail traffic and sales:

Retail sales cooled in May, as shopper traffic fell sharply. The revenues index slashed twenty-one points from last month’s reading, ending the survey period at 3. The index for shopper traffic plummeted from 34 to -29 in May. In addition, falling big-ticket sales remained a drag on overall sales revenues. The big-ticket index faltered once again, finishing at -27, compared to April’s -31.

That’s outright contraction and not in a small way either.

Recession indicator?  Yep.  Look at the deterioration in the retail indicators:

Revenues down, wage demand up, big ticket sales in the trashcan and shopper traffic collapsed.

“Here it comes”

The Market-Ticker