US retail sales slowed to a fractional gain April, rising 0.1% after surging in March, reportedly fueled by front-running purchases to avoid tariffs. Core sales, which excludes several volatile categories and factors into the gross domestic product (GDP) reading for the quarter, fell 0.2%. “We are now witnessing the first-order effects of tariffs on the economy through reduced spending,” said Tuan Nguyen, a US economist at RSM US. “While a recession is no longer our base case over the next 12 months due to the recent reduction in tariffs, the likelihood has increased that the US economy will experience several quarters of sluggish growth.”
