U.S. retail sales climb 1.3% month-on-month in October - Commerce Department

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- U.S. retail spending rose by more than expected in October, according to data from the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

Seasonally adjusted retail sales in the world's largest economy increased by 1.3% during the month after the reading stagnated in September. Analysts' forecasts had called for growth of 1.0%. 

Gasoline stations were a key driver behind the uptick, with spending at the pump surging by 4.1% month-on-month due to elevated fuel costs. Meanwhile, motor vehicles and parts saw a 1.3% expansion in spending, reflecting an easing in recent supply chain constraints, while sales at food and beverage businesses rose by 1.4%.

Core retail sales, which strip out some of the more volatile elements of the consumer shopping basket, also jumped by 1.3%, far ahead of estimates of 0.4%. The figure had edged up by 0.1% in September.

The numbers follow a report last week that showed that October consumer price inflation moved higher by 0.4% versus the prior month and 7.7% from a year before.

"October data pointed to resilient consumer spending, despite high inflation and rising borrowing costs hitting consumer demand," said analysts at Trading Economics.