By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- U.S. retail sales rose by more than expected in June, as consumers maintained their spending despite having to pay more and more for an increasingly broad range of goods and services.
The Census Bureau said sales, which aren't adjusted for inflation, rose 1.0% from May, more or less keeping track with the broad rise in consumer inflation in the same month. It also revised May's data up to show a decline of only 0.1% from an original estimate of 0.3%. In annual terms, sales were up 8.4% from June 2021.
Core sales, which exclude automobiles, also rose by 1.0%, significantly more than the 0.6% rise expected.
The data comes a day after Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller said that if retail sales and housing data for last month come out more strongly than expected, he would be open to raising the Fed Funds target rate by a full percentage point at the Fed's policy meeting at the end of July.