Oct. 17 (UPI) — Retail sales in September beat out Wall Street’s forecast, increasing a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in the month, topping the unrevised total of 0.1% in August, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.
The Census Bureau’s monthly retail and food services report edged out the 0.3% anticipated by the Dow Jones forecast. The news coupled with the slowing of inflation to 0.2% according to the latest consumer price index, marks an economic positive after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last month.
The report said that retail and food sales were up 1.7% from 12 months ago.
“Total sales for July 2024 through September 2024 were up 2.3% from the same period a year ago,” the report said. “The July 2024 to August 2-24 % change was unrevised from up 0.1%.”
The Commerce Department said retail trade sales improved 0.3% from August and 1.4% from the previous year. Nonstore retailers saw the biggest increase, leaping 7.1% from last year. Food services and drinking places were also up from 12 months ago by 3.7%.
In looking at the first nine months of the year, overall retail and food services increased 2.6% from 2023, sparked by an 8.2% increase in online sales and a 6.2% jump in miscellaneous store retailers. Food services and drinking places increased 5% over the same period.
Those numbers were tempered by a 2.4% drop in gasoline stores because of falling gas prices.
