NEWS
Retail sales rise faster than expected in October even as inflation pushes prices higher
  • Retail sales rose 1.7% in October, both for all items and excluding autos.
  • Price pressures fueled the spending increase, led by online shopping and gasoline.
  • Inflation has been rising at the fastest pace in 30 years, but consumers don’t appear to be curtailing their purchases

U.S. shoppers accelerated their level of spending in October even as the prices of goods jumped at their fastest pace since the 1990s, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Retail sales, a measure of how much consumers spent on goods ranging across categories from autos to sporting goods and food and gas, increased 1.7% for October, compared with 0.8% the previous month.

Other News