(TargetLiberty.org) – In September there was a surge in retail spending among Americans despite the high interest rate and slight uptick in the inflation rate. Retail sales are a measurement of consumer spending on everyday goods, including necessities, food, gas, and cars.
On Tuesday the Commerce Department reported a slight increase of 0.7 percent which is higher than the projected 0.3 percent that Refinitiv economists had anticipated. At the same time, the rate was slightly lower than August’s recorded revised gain of 0.8 percent.
Last month there was a 0.6 percent increase in the sale of autos and gasoline.
The increase in the retail sales in September is not adjusted for inflation, which means that while consumers are spending more they are more likely getting back less than what they were in previous months.
The amount spent at gas stations, health stores, restaurants, grocery stores, and bars increased in the last year. There was also an increase in how much consumers spent while online shopping. Over the last month, there was a 3 percent increase in spending in miscellaneous store retailers. Spending in non-store retailers also increased by 1.1 percent in the last month.
Navy Federal Credit Union corporate economist Robert Frick stated that there is “little sign of flagging” considering there was an increase in various goods, including autos, restaurants and durable goods.
Last month there was an increase in sales in 13 different retail categories.
However, Americans appear to be relying at an increasing pace on credit cards in order to cover their necessities, with credit card debt reaching $1 trillion earlier this year. In August delinquencies also reached an 11-year high.
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