US retail sales grow at slower pace
Friday, 16 June 2023
WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP): Retail sales in the United States grew at a slower pace in May but still came in stronger than expected, according to government data released Thursday, on the back of falling gas station sales.
The data point is the latest in a number of signals that the world's biggest economy is cooling after 10 Federal Reserve interest rate hikes to ease demand and lower inflation.
In May, retail sales rose 0.3 per cent from April to $686.6 billion, more than analysts had expected, the Commerce Department reported. Driving this trend were lower sales at gasoline stations, down 2.6 per cent from April and 20.5 per cent from a year ago, the report showed.