Consumers Open Up Their Wallets
U.S. consumers continue to open up their wallets, according to the October retail sales report.
Retail sales rose 0.3% last month, the measure’s seventh gain in eight months. Retail sales’ rise was led by a 1.1% gain in gasoline store sales and a 0.9% increase in sales at “non-store retailers.” Furniture and clothing sales dropped the most of all categories. Control group sales, which we view as a cleaner measure of retail sales’ contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), rose 0.3%.
Data on consumer activity is especially important to watch these days. Consumer spending has powered th
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