Americans Bump Up Spending In June As Inflation Eases In A Strong Jobs Market

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans increased their spending last month as inflation eased in many areas, and the job market remained remarkably strong.

Retail sales rose 0.2% from May to June, following a revised 0.5% increase the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The figure matched the pace of consumer inflation in June from the prior month, underscoring that shoppers are just about keeping up with pricing pressures.

While the headline number of 0.2% was a bit weaker than expected, economists focused on the number that excludes volatile autos, gas, building materials and food services, which rose a solid 0.6% in June.

That 0.6% figure is what is fed into the government’s measure of economic growth, and it’s a fairly strong spending number.