Consumer spending held up well in July as inflation slowed, with retail sales turning in a stronger-than-expected showing for the month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
The advanced retail sales report showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.7% for the month, better than the 0.4% Dow Jones estimate.
Excluding autos, sales rose a robust 1%, also against a 0.4% forecast.
Gas station sales rose just 0.4% on the month despite rising prices at the pump.
On a 12-month basis, sales rose 3.2%, which is exactly in line with the annual increase in the CPI.
Persons:
Dow Jones, Mike Loewengart, Jim Baird, Plante
Organizations:
Commerce Department, Gas, Federal, Fed, Morgan Stanley Global Investment, CPI, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, Export, Consumers, Financial Advisors, Empire, Manufacturing Survey
Locations:
U.S, New York