Consumer spending on manufactured goods fell 0.3 percent in May after a 0.6 percent gain in April and were down 0.5 percent from a year ago, with households pulling back on purchases of durable goods.

After rising 0.7 percent in April, spending on durables fell 0.6 percent in May, with consumers spending 0.9 percent less on transportation equipment, particularly new automobiles. Household durables spending fell 0.2 percent led by declines in computers and furniture.

Spending on energy increased 2.2 percent in May after falling 3.7 percent in April largely due to mild temperatures, suggesting a return to a more normal spending pattern.

Total consumer spending rose 0.2 percent in May, slowing from 0.5 percent in April while falling 0.5 percent year-on-year. When including manufactured goods, overall spending was down 0.7 percent in May following a 1.8 percent increase in April.

The data show a cautious French consumer pulling back on discretionary spending as seen in the drop in durables spending. To be sure, spending was higher on energy, but that is something the consumer has far less control over.

Consumption of manufactured goods by consumers is an indicator of consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are released separately as part of the report on total goods spending.

This indicator is a measure of retail sales and is unique to France. It measures consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are seasonally and workday adjusted. These adjustments eliminate the fluctuations that are solely due to changes in the number of working days. The data appear to be particularly sensitive to the number of worked Saturdays. With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. Retail sales are a measure of consumer well-being.

The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth.

Retail sales not only give you a sense of the big picture, but also the trends among different types of retailers. Perhaps auto sales are especially strong or apparel sales are showing exceptional weakness. These trends from the retail sales data can help you spot specific investment opportunities, without having to wait for a company's quarterly or annual report.