U.S. retail sales rose 0.5 percent in April, with consumers spending $757.1 billion on retail and food services, according to data released Thursday by the Commerce Department and the U.S. Census Bureau. This advance marks the third consecutive month of growth, pointing to some signs of consumer resilience.
The April increase represents a slowdown from March, which saw a revised growth level of 1.6 percent. March marked the largest one-month increase in retail spending in more than three years, largely because gas prices spiked higher rapidly.
Despite the growth, there are signs that consumers are under strain due to higher prices for food, gas, and other goods. Sales growth was damped by a cooler increase in gasoline prices as the Iran conflict continued, leading some shoppers to pull back on nonessential spending as higher fuel costs left them with less money.