- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.2% | 24.65 | $ | |
SCS | -0.7% | 12.88 | $ | |
BCC | 0.48% | 139.569 | $ | |
GSK | 0.06% | 38.845 | $ | |
NGG | -1.28% | 65.66 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 33.6 | $ | |
RIO | -0.13% | 69.61 | $ | |
BTI | -0.02% | 35.284 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RELX | -0.6% | 46.015 | $ | |
JRI | -0.38% | 13.23 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.74% | 33.125 | $ | |
AZN | -0.36% | 77.19 | $ | |
VOD | 0.21% | 9.68 | $ |
US retail sales bounce in October on auto and gas
US retail sales jumped more than expected in October, bumped up by higher gas prices and auto sales while pointing to resilience in spending in the face of price pressures, according to government data released Wednesday.
The uptick came after sales flatlined the month before, as American consumers grappled with surging costs that have made everything from groceries to clothing more expensive.
Faced with decades-high inflation levels, the US Federal Reserve has rapidly raised its benchmark lending rate this year, including four consecutive super-sized hikes, even at the risk of tipping the world's biggest economy into recession.
But retail sales in October picked up 1.3 percent from September to $694.5 billion, the Commerce Department reported.
This was driven by a 1.5 percent uptick in autos, as well as a 4.1 percent jump in sales at gasoline stations as fuel prices edged up.
Prices at the gas pump surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year, although they have eased from a record high and drifted lower in recent weeks.
Sales at restaurants and bars remained resilient too in October, rising 1.6 percent from the month prior, the report showed.
The data are seasonally adjusted but do not take into account changes in prices, so as costs rise, a shopping dollar does not stretch as far and American families have had to use more of their earnings on staple goods and seek out bargains.
Overall, retail sales were 8.3 percent higher than in the same month of last year.
Despite signs of trouble in the tech industry, including layoffs and ecommerce giant Amazon, sales at online retailers increased 1.2 percent last month.
Apart from rising prices, "people have chosen to draw down on savings accumulated during the pandemic to maintain consumption, despite significant pressure on real incomes," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics in a recent analysis ahead of the report.
He expects the process can "continue for some time yet" as excess personal savings from the Covid-19 period still stood at $1.3 trillion in September.
"Whether people are willing to run down savings further, however, is less clear," he said.
J.Bondarev--CPN