The numbers: Sales at U.S. retailers fell in April for the second time in three months, a sign that Americans are exercising caution over how much they spend with the economy facing increased headwinds.

Retail sales dropped 0.2% last month, the government said Wednesday. Sales declined in most major segments including automobiles, home centers and internet stores.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expected sales to climb 0.1%.

Stripping out automobiles and gas, sales also fell 0.2% to reflect broad weakness in the retail segment.

What happened: Receipts fell 1.1% at car dealers after a decline in sales of new cars last month. Sales also slid a sharp 1.3% for electronic stores and 1.9% at home and garden centers.

Clothing stores, pharmacies and Internet retailers all posted a 0.2% dip in sales.

Sales jumped 1.8% at gasoline stations, reflecting higher prices at the pump. That’s not good news for consumers or the economy, however.

Big picture: The latest look at retail sales suggests Americans are showing more restraint in 2019 compared with a year earlier, when some households got a boost from the Trump tax cuts. Consumer spending in the first quarter was the weakest in a year.

Some letup was expected last month after a 1.7% surge in retail sales in March, but the drop in April is also a caution sign for the economy. Consumer outlays account for more than two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity.

Among the challenges facing the U.S. are a slower business investment, a weaker manufacturing industry and a tit-for-tat trade fight with China that’s disrupting the world’s two largest economies.

Still, rising wages and the lowest layoffs and unemployment rate 50 years should keep the U.S. growing steadily through the summer, most economists say.

Read: Trump takes a page out of early American history with steep tariffs on Chinese goods

What they are saying?: “Given strong job gains and faster wage growth, spending trends from consumers should be faster,” said chief economist David Berson of Nationwide Economics. “We expect better readings from retail sales in coming months as the positive labor market trends feed into consumer activity.”

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.19% and S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% recovered modestly after lower opens on Wednesday.

Stocks on Tuesday broke a string of deep losses after trade talks between the U.S. and China broke down. Yet on Wednesday reports emerged that the U.S. would delay proposed auto tariffs.

Read:The monster clash between U.S., China over trade dwarfs all other issues about the economy