Spending at retail stores rose at a much faster pace than expected in July, suggesting that the U.S. consumer is stronger than previously thought.
Retail spending jumped one percent in July, the Census Bureau said Thursday. Economists had been expecting a much smaller 0.3 percent increase.
Spending had declined 0.2 percent in June, largely due to a massive cyber-attack on U.S. car dealers and a decline in gasoline prices. Excluding sales at gas stations and car dealers, sales in June climbed 0.8 percent.
Last month saw a rebound in sales at car dealers. These jumped 3.8 percent, reversing the 3.4 percent decline in June.
But this rebound explains only part of the overall increase in sales. Even excluding autos, retail sales grew 0.4 percent.
