“U.S. retail sales soften as high gasoline costs begin to bite”
March 16, 2022
“Growth in U.S. retail sales slowed in February after surging a month earlier, suggesting that consumers tempered their spending in some categories as inflation limited purchasing power.
The value of overall retail purchases increased 0.3 per cent, after an upwardly revised 4.9 per cent gain in January, Commerce Department figures showed Wednesday.
The February advance was led by a 5.3 per cent jump in spending for gasoline. Excluding gas stations, sales fell 0.2 per cent last month. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. For Federal Reserve policy makers, the retail figures suggest only a modest change in consumer spending behavior against a backdrop of soaring inflation that may worsen in the months ahead…”
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-retail-sales-soften-as-high-gasoline-costs-begin-to-bite-1.1738443