The consumer spending trend was flat in September as prices surged higher , and as the Federal Reserve implemented higher interest rates to slow down the economy, according to the government data released on Thursday. Food and retail sales have not changed much in the month, after a rise of 0.4 percent in August, as per the estimate for the month of the Commerce Department. This was lower than what was the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.3 percent increase. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.1%, against an estimate for no change. Given that the retail sales numbers aren’t adjusted to an increase in prices, this report suggests that the real expenditure across the broad range of industries the report examines dipped during the entire month. inflation wreaks havoc on the economy.
Report says
An Bureau of Labor Statistics report Thursday revealed that the price of consumer goods and services increased 0.4 percent for all items and services and 0.6 percent when you exclude foods and fuel. Retailers of other stores saw an increase of 2.5 percent during the month, and gas stations saw a drop of 1.4 percent, as energy prices decreased. Many other industries have also seen declines, such as sports goods, hobby bookstores, music and books along with furniture and home furnishings stores. Both saw an -0.7 percentage drop. Meanwhile, appliances and electronics were down 0.8 percent and motor vehicle parts and dealers dropped 0.4 percent. General merchandise store sales rose 0.7%. These gains also include online stores restaurant and bars clothing stores, as well as health and personal health stores. All of them were able to see 0.5 percent growth.
Although the gains in the month were not as impressive however, sales at retail increased 8.2 percent from the year before and matched the increase in the index of consumer prices. The majority of shoppers are well-off, even but there are indications lately that they’re using savings to cover the cost of living. The Fed has taken a number of interest rate hikes with the aim of cutting inflation and getting the economy back in the balance. Markets anticipate the central bank’s decision to increase rates by up to 1.5 percentage points more until the close this year. An different report Thursday revealed the decline in import prices of 1.2 percent in September, a little more than the 1.1 percent figure. Exports declined 0.8%.