People shop at a local supermarket in Washington, D.C., the United States, Sept. 13, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
The retail sales data were released one day after the Labor Department reported the country's consumer inflation in September surged 8.2 percent from a year ago, with core inflation soaring to a four-decade high, cementing another big rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales were flat in September, after ticking up by a revised 0.4 percent in August, as Americans continue to grapple with high inflation and rising interest rates have led to less growth.
Retail sales, which aren't adjusted for inflation, totaled 684 billion U.S. dollars in September, according to a report released by the department's Census Bureau.
Total sales for the July-September period were up 9.2 percent from a year ago, the report showed.
Retail trade sales were down 0.1 percent from August, but up 7.8 percent from last year. Gasoline purchases fell by 1.4 percent from August, but were up still 20.6 percent from September 2021. Motor vehicle and parts dealers dropped 0.4 percent from August, and were up 5.6 percent from last year.
Retail spending has largely remained resilient in recent months amid high inflation and rising interest rates, indicating continued consumer confidence. But some ups and downs might reflect price changes rather than changes in the amounts purchased.
People shop at a supermarket in San Mateo, California, the United States, Sept. 13, 2022. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua)
The retail sales data were released one day after the Labor Department reported the country's consumer inflation in September surged 8.2 percent from a year ago, with core inflation soaring to a four-decade high, cementing another big rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed).
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis after ticking up 0.1 percent.
Fed officials expect inflation pressures to persist in the near term, according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting on Sept. 20-21, released Wednesday.
The officials believe that the Fed needs to move to, and then maintain, a more restrictive policy stance to meet its goals.
The Fed's latest quarterly economic projections showed that their median projection of gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year is 0.2 percent, a further downgrade from the 1.7 percent projected in June. ■
