Courtesy of Creative Commons. Picture by 401k.

Retail sales in the United States increased by 0.8 percent, more than double the 0.3 percent predicted by economists, according to Reuters.

The retail sales growth caused the dollar to push a bit higher against the yen and the euro, but it isn’t all good news.

Reuters reported:

The optimism over retail sales was tempered by a separate report that showed manufacturing in New York state slowed sharply in April, although factories hired more workers and received higher prices for their goods.

Things are better than they were last year, but barely.  Experts say that these small improvements are unlikely to change the overall forecast for the American economy.

According to Reuters:

Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida, said details in the retail sales report suggested less stellar sales figures that will not change forecasts for gross domestic product in the first quarter.

However, with presidential elections looming, any improvement in U.S. economic performance is likely to be lauded by President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.  After all, slow growth is better than no growth.

Spain stands as a stark reminder of fears that have not come to fruition during the presidency of Barack Obama, fears of a double-dip recession.

Reuters Reported:

Spanish stocks plunged to three-year lows and the economy minister said the country had probably tipped back into recession for the second time since 2009.