Investing.com – The US Commerce Department said on Monday that the increase in inflation in March did not deter consumers, who continued to buy at a faster pace than expected.
Ministry data said it rose 0.7% in the month, which is much higher than experts had expected a rise of 0.4%, according to data from the Statistics Office.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in March, the Labor Department reported last week in data that was also higher than experts expected. This means that consumers were able to keep up with the pace of inflation, which reached an annual rate of 3.5% during the month, less than the increase of 4% in retail sales.
Excluding auto-related revenue, retail sales jumped 1.1%, well above estimates for a 0.5% increase.
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The rise in gas prices helped push the headline retail sales figure higher, with sales rising 2.1% month-over-month at service stations. However, online sales were the biggest growth area for the month, rising 2.7%, while miscellaneous retailers saw an increase of 2.1%.
While several categories recorded a decline in sales for the month, with sporting goods, hobbies, musical instruments and books recording a decline of 1.8%, while clothing stores fell 1.6% and electronics and appliances saw a decline of 1.2 %.
Stock market returns added some gains after the report, and yields also rose sharply. The positive outlook for Wall Street’s opening came despite rising tensions in the Middle East over the weekend.
Steady consumer spending has helped keep the economy afloat despite rising interest rates and concerns about rampant inflation. Consumer spending represents nearly 70% of US economic output, so it is critical to continued GDP growth.
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Monday’s data comes as market concerns grow about the course of monetary policy. Federal Reserve officials have warned against cutting interest rates as inflationary pressures continue, prompting investors to lower their expectations for policy easing this year.
Strong consumer spending could encourage the Fed to postpone cuts for longer, said Andrew Hunter, deputy chief US economist at Capital Economics.
“Combined with the recent rebound in employment growth, continued consumption slack is another reason to be skeptical that the Fed will wait longer before starting to cut interest rates, which we now believe won’t even happen,” Hunter said in a note after the Fed’s meeting. . September”.
Market expectations, which have been highly volatile over the past few weeks, also point to the next first-rate cut at a meeting in September, according to the US rate tracker. available on the Investing Saudi website.
Gold and dollars now
Gold futures are now down 0.19% to $2,369 an ounce.
While it rose about 0.34% to $2,352 per ounce.
On the other hand, it is stable at 105,820 points.
2024-04-15 13:27:00
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