US retail sales rise 0.3% to $683B in August

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – US retail sales rose 0.3% in August, higher than the market expectation, according to the Commerce Department figures released on Thursday.

Retail sales in the US increased to $683.3 billion last month. The market expectation was a gain of 0.2%.

The figure in May stood at $681.3 – a monthly decline of 0.4%.

On an annual basis, however, retail sales rose 9.1% in August from the same month of last year.

"Gasoline stations were up 29.3% from August 2021, while non-store retailers were up 11.2%," the Commerce Department said in a statement.

The gain in retail sales suggests that consumer demand still remains strong in the world's largest economy as high inflation continues to bite.

Annual consumer inflation in the US was 8.3% in August, slightly easing from an 8.5% yearly gain in July, according to the Labor Department figures released on Tuesday.