Shoppers stepped up their buying modestly as inflation on many items eased, but they still face a host of economic challenges over the next few months.
— which measures inflation before it hits consumers — accelerated in August, largely because of higher gas prices, according to a report issued by the Labor Department. That’s a sign that inflation remains stubbornly persistent despite a series of sharp interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline last week reached $3.86 as of Thursday, 5 cents more than the week prior, AAA said. Excluding gas sales, retail sales were just up 0.2% for August, according to the Commerce Department report. Sales at gas stations rose a robust 5.2%, while furniture and home furnishings stores saw a 1% drop in sales. Clothing and accessories stores had a 0.9% gain, likely helped by back-to-school spending. Restaurants saw a 0.3% increase. Grocery stores had a 0.4% sales increase. Online sales were unchanged in August, perhaps hurt by robust spending during the Amazon Prime day sales event in July.August’s uptick in retail sales, which marks the fifth straight monthly gain, reflects the economy’s resiliency despite a still tough economic environment. Yet spending has been volatile this year after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbled in February and March before recovering in the spring and summer.
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