Current:Home > BackRetail sales rise solid 0.7% in September, reflecting US shoppers’ resilience despite higher prices-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Retail sales rise solid 0.7% in September, reflecting US shoppers’ resilience despite higher prices
View Date:2024-12-23 20:32:37
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans showed their steadfast resilience and kept spending in September even as they grappled with higher prices, interest rates and a host of other headwinds piling up.
Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, more than twice what economists had expected, and close to a revised 0.8% bump in August, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales in August were inflated after gasoline prices spiked, however. That was not the case in September when gas prices began to ease.
A closely watched category of retail sales that excludes auto dealers, gas stations and building materials and feeds into the gross domestic product jumped 0.6% last month compared to the prior month.
September’s uptick in retail sales, the sixth consecutive monthly gain, reflects how the U.S. economy has remained resilient despite attempts by the Federal Reserve to cool spending and hiring. Spending has been volatile after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbled in February and March before recovering in the spring and summer.
Spending at restaurants were up 0.9%, while spending online rose 1.1% last month, according to the report. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 0.4%. Business at grocery stores was up 0.4%. Sales at home furnishings and furniture stores were flat, while electronics store saw a 0.8% decline reflecting a difficult housing market.
The retail sales report came as businesses across the U.S. economy ramped up hiring in September, defying surging interest rates, and the ongoing threat of a government shutdown. The strength of hiring has surprised economists inside and outside of the Fed.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month’s 0.6% pace. The report from the Labor Department also showed that year-over-year inflation was flat last month from a 3.7% rise in August.
The retail data doesn’t capture the impact from the resumption of student loan payments, which started Oct. 1 and could have an impact on the critical holiday shopping season. It also doesn’t cover the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas. Analysts say that shoppers could become rattled if the Israel-Hamas war is not contained.
The government’s monthly retail sales report offers only a partial look at consumer spending; it doesn’t include many services, including health care, travel and hotel lodging.
——————
Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
veryGood! (94253)
Related
- What is ‘Doge’? Explaining the meme and cryptocurrency after Elon Musk's appointment to D.O.G.E.
- With California’s deficit looming, schools brace for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spending plan
- An Oregon judge enters the final order striking down a voter-approved gun control law
- Blizzard knocks out power and closes highways and ski resorts in Oregon and Washington
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- Following her release, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard is buying baby clothes 'just in case'
- A one-on-one debate between Haley and DeSantis could help decide the Republican alternative to Trump
- Ronnie Long, North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison after wrongful conviction, awarded $25M settlement
- Tom Brady Shares How He's Preparing for Son Jack to Be a Stud
- Walmart experiments with AI to enhance customers’ shopping experiences
Ranking
- What happens to Donald Trump’s criminal conviction? Here are a few ways it could go
- Joey Fatone, AJ McLean promise joint tour will show 'magic of *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys'
- Miami Dolphins sign Justin Houston and Bruce Irvin, adding depth to injured linebacker group
- Cesarean deliveries surge in Puerto Rico, reaching a record rate in the US territory, report says
- 'America's flagship' SS United States has departure from Philadelphia to Florida delayed
- Armed attack during live broadcast at Ecuadorian TV station. What’s behind the spiraling violence?
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds focuses on education, health care in annual address
- Pope Francis blasts surrogacy as deplorable practice that turns a child into an object of trafficking
Recommendation
-
Fire crews gain greater control over destructive Southern California wildfire
-
What 'Good Grief' teaches us about loss beyond death
-
Virginia General Assembly set to open 2024 session with Democrats in full control of the Capitol
-
NRA lawyer says gun rights group is defendant and victim at civil trial over leader’s big spending
-
South Carolina does not set a date for the next execution after requests for a holiday pause
-
Republicans are taking the first step toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress
-
As DeSantis and Haley face off in Iowa GOP debate, urgency could spark fireworks
-
AI-powered misinformation is the world’s biggest short-term threat, Davos report says