With steep declines in auto and gasoline sales offset by strength in other areas, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing U.S. retail sales came in unchanged in the month of June.
The Commerce Department said retail sales came in flat in June after rising by an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in May.
Economists had expected retail sales to come in unchanged compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding the sharp drop in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in June after inching up by 0.1 percent in May. Ex-auto sales were expected to creep up by 0.1 percent.
The Labor Department also released a report on Tuesday showing import prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in the month of June.
The report said import prices were unchanged in June after dipping by a revised 0.2 percent in May. Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices declined by 0.5 percent in June after falling by a revised 0.7 percent in May.
Export prices were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
At 10 am ET, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of July. The housing market index is expected to inch up to 44 in July from 43 in June.
The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on business inventories in the month of June at 10 am ET. Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
At 2:45 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler is scheduled to speak before the 21st Annual National Association for Business Economics Foundation Economic Measurement Seminar.