US retail sales increased solidly for a third straight month in April, though part of the rise in receipts was due to a sharp rise in inflation since the start of the Iran conflict.
Retail sales rose 0.5 per cent last month after a downwardly revised 1.6pc jump in March, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, would gain 0.5pc after a previously reported 1.7pc increase in March.
Retail sales increased 4.9pc on a year-over-year basis in April. Economists estimated that sales adjusted for inflation dipped 0.1pc last month and were up 1.1pc from a year ago.
Last month’s advance in retail sales was led by a 1.4pc increase in receipts at electronics and appliance stores. Sales at nonstore retailers, which include online retailers, rose 1.1pc. Receipts at gasoline stations increased 2.8pc after surging 13.7pc in March. Gasoline prices rose 12.3pc in April, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.
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