US retail sales rise 1.3% to $694B in October

Retail sales increase 8.3% in October on annual basis

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – US retail sales rose 1.3% to reach $694.5 billion in October, higher than market expectation, according to the Commerce Department figures on Wednesday.

While the market expectation was a gain of 1%, retail sales in the US stood at $685.8 billion in September.

On an annual basis, retail sales rose 8.3% in October from the same month of last year.

"Gasoline stations (sales) were up 17.8% from October 2021, while food services and drinking places were up 14.1% from last year," the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Retail sales rising in October indicates that consumer demand still remains strong in the world's largest economy as high inflation continues to bite.

US annual consumer inflation came in at 7.7% in October, easing from the 8.2% annual gain in September, according to the Labor Department.

Annual US producer inflation rose 8% in October, slowing down from September's 8.4% gain year-on-year.

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