Retail sales rise 0.5% in March amid soaring inflation
Source: AP
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales rose modestly in March, but higher prices for food, gasoline and other basics took a big share of consumers’ wallets.
Retail sales increased 0.5% after registering a revised 0.8% increase from January to February. Spending has been fueled by wage gains, solid hiring and more money in banking accounts. January’s increase of 4.9% was the biggest jump in spending since March 2021, when American households received a final federal stimulus check of $1,400.
Excluding an 8.9% increase at gas stations, overall retail sales were actually down 0.3% last month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
“They are spending selectively this month and the gasoline price spike from the Russian-Ukraine war was where most of the expenditures were made,” said Christopher S. Rupkey, chief economist at research firm FWDBONDS LLC.
FILE - A customer wears a mask as she waits to get a receipt at a register in Target store in Vernon Hills, Ill., Sunday, May 23, 2021. Retail sales rose modestly in March 2022, but higher prices for food, gasoline and other basics took a big share of their wallet. Retail sales increased 0.5% after registering a revised 0.8% jump from January to February. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-inflation-prices-de6298c24bea131a219c963805f40f8d
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