Americans ramped up retail spending a strong 1.7% last month [View all]
Source: AP
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans largely shrugged off higher prices last month and stepped up their spending at retail stores and online, providing a boost to the economy.
Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in October from September, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. That’s the biggest gain since March and up from 0.8% in the previous month. Much of the sales increase also reflected higher prices.
Solid hiring, strong pay raises, and healthy savings for many households are underpinning robust spending. Americans are also still buying more cars, furniture, and other goods than they did before the pandemic, which is overwhelming U.S. ports and shipping firms and pushing up prices. The solid spending last month suggests the holiday shopping season is off to a strong start.
Tuesday’s retail sales figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, which rose 0.9% in October, the government said last Wednesday. In some categories, such as gas station sales, which rose 3.9% in October, a jump in gas prices accounted for nearly all the gain. Gas prices rose 3.7% in October, according to the government’s inflation report.
FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2020 file photo, a woman carries shopping bags in New York. The National Retail Federation expects that holiday sales gain could shatter last year’s record-breaking season even as a snarled global supply chain slows the flow of goods and results in higher prices for broad range of items. The nation's largest retail trade group said Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 it predicts that sales for the November and December period will grow between 8.5% and 10.5% to $843.4 billion and $859 billion. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-prices-retail-sales-85c933a1ca63498c68111af4b59a006b
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