NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers picked up their spending in June from May despite surging prices in gas and food.
U.S. retail sales rose 1% last month, from a revised decline of 0.1 % in May, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Sales at furniture stores rose 1.4%, while consumer electronics stores rose 0.4%. Department stores took a hit, posting 2.6% decline. Online sales showed resurgence, posting a 2.2% increase. Business at restaurants was up 1%.
The report comes as U.S. inflation surged to a new four-decade high in June because of rising prices for gas, food and rent, squeezing household budgets and pressuring the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively — trends that raise the risk of a recession.