By SPA,
Washington : The White House said a decline in July retail sales reported on Wednesday reflected problems in the U.S. auto industry, and that fiscal and monetary stimulus would contribute to U.S. economic growth in the third and fourth quarters of this year.
“Overall retail sales declined slightly in July, but most of that reflects ongoing difficulties in the auto industry,” Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, told reporters.
“Excluding the decline in autos, retail sales were up even in the face of substantial [difficulties] faced by households,” Fratto said. “The combination of fiscal and monetary stimulus still [occurring] will contribute to growth in the third and fourth quarters.”
The White House comments came after the Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell 0.1 percent in July, the weakest performance in five months, as a variety of economic problems combined to offset the impact of billions of dollars in government stimulus payments to U.S. households.