Americans unexpectedly paused their spending in April from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome, according to the Associated Press.
Retail sales were unchanged, coming in well below economists’ expectations, and followed a revised 0.6% pace in March, according to Commerce Department data released today. Sales rose 0.9% in February. That comes after sales fell 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather. Excluding gas prices and auto sales, retail sales fell 0.1%
Retail sales were also dragged down by a 1.2% drop in online business. Business at electronics stores was up 1.5%. Sales at home furnishings stores slipped 0.5%. Sales at clothing and accessories stores posted a 1.6% gain.
The retail sales data offers only a partial look at consumer spending because it excludes things like travel and lodging; however, at restaurants, the lone service category tracked in the monthly retail sales report, sales rose 0.2% from March.
