Retail Sales in U.S. Probably Climbed on Pickup in Car Purchases

Retail sales in the U.S. probably increased in May by the most in three months as Americans took advantage of cheap borrowing costs to purchase new cars, economists said before a report today.

The 0.4 percent gain would follow a 0.1 percent advance in April, according to the median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Other reports may show little change in first-time jobless claims last week or in the cost of imported goods in May.