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U.S. Retail Sales Soften as High Gasoline Costs Begin to Bite

Published 03/16/2022, 08:42 PM
Updated 03/16/2022, 08:42 PM
© Bloomberg. A shopper inside a women's clothing store in the East Village neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa. Photographer: Kathryn Gamble/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Growth in U.S. retail sales slowed in February after surging a month earlier, suggesting that consumers are pulling back spending in some categories as inflation limits purchasing power. 

The value of overall retail purchases increased 0.3%, after an upwardly revised 4.9% gain in January, Commerce Department figures showed Wednesday. Excluding gas stations, sales fell 0.2% in February. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.4% gain in overall retail sales from the prior month.

For Federal Reserve policy makers, the retail figures suggest an adjustment in consumer spending behavior against a backdrop of soaring inflation that may worsen in the months ahead. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent gasoline prices to a record and is adding to cost pressures more broadly through soaring commodities.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

© Bloomberg. A shopper inside a women's clothing store in the East Village neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa. Photographer: Kathryn Gamble/Bloomberg

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