Retail sales rose by 0.2% in June and were down 0.2% excluding a 1.9% gain in auto sales.
A 5.3% plunge in gasoline station sales was a key factor, as retail sales would have been up 0.7% excluding that decline and up 0.4% excluding both vehicles and gas.
Sales at food services and drinking places rose 0.1% after a 1.2% increase in the previous month. There were also sales gains for electronics, sporting goods and at nonstore retailers, but declines at food and beverage stores and at healthcare and stores.
Control group retail sales, which exclude motor vehicles, gas, building materials, and food services, rose by 0.6% after a 0.9% gain in May.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing reading surged to 41.4 in July from 10.3 in June, indicating significant expansion following a sizable increase in the New York Fed's manufacturing reading on Wednesday.
The New York Fed's monthly business leaders index, a measure of services conditions, rose to 8.7 in July from minus 10.1 in June, indicating a return to expansion. Other services data will be released over the coming weeks.
The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index fell by 5.4% in June, a much larger drop than expected. NAR attributed the drop to a combination of high mortgage rates and record home prices. Pending sales were down 0.3% from a year earlier.
The NAR's existing-home sales data for July are scheduled for release on Aug. 11.
The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index fell to 34 in July from 36 in June but was up from a reading of 33 a year ago.
NAHB said that economic uncertainty and affordability challenges continue to depress builder sentiment.
Business inventories rose by 0.3% in May after a 0.6% gain in April. Business sales increased by 2.1% after a 1.4% gain, with increases at the factory, retail and wholesale levels.
Initial jobless claims decreased by 8,000 to 208,000 in the week ended July 11, trimming the four-week moving average by 4,750 to 214,250, a third straight decrease.
Insured claims fell by 16,000 to 1.805 million in the week ended July 4.
Natural gas stocks rose by 41 billion cubic feet to 3.024 trillion cubic feet in the week ended July 10, down 0.7% from a year earlier but 6.4% higher than the seasonal average for the current week over the previous five years.
The Q2 GDP nowcast estimate from the Atlanta Fed is for a 1.7% gain, up from the previous estimate of a 1.3% gain.