U.S. retail sales in June beat expectations as tariffs push up commodity prices

Odaily News U.S. retail sales rebounded stronger than expected in June, but some of the growth may reflect higher prices for some goods affected by tariffs. Data released on Thursday showed that retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.9% drop in May, which was higher than the markets consensus forecast of a 0.1% increase. Part of the increase in retail sales last month may be due to tariff-driven price increases rather than sales volume. Inflation data released this week showed that prices of tariff-sensitive goods such as household goods, appliances, sporting goods and toys rose steadily in June. Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services rose 0.5% last month, after a downwardly revised 0.2% in May. Overall, the household sector appears to be holding up, but consumer spending appears to be slowing, said Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo. (Jinshi)