Retail sales tick up 0.6% in February before Iran war, gas price spike |
Retail sales tick up 0.6% in February before Iran war, gas price spike
Shoppers increased their spending in February before gasoline prices spiked because of the attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.
Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in February, from a revised 0.1% decline in January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Retail analysts say it was a strong showing given that inflation has rattled American households, but that the war in Iran may have dented the psyche of consumers with spending on gasoline racing higher over the past five weeks.
“While the overall numbers are good and suggest a continued trajectory of reasonable expansion for retail, they do not reflect the problems that have arisen since the start of the Iran conflict,” wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. “Since the start of March our own numbers show that consumer sentiment has soured and that rising gas prices are starting to spook consumers.”
This week the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline eclipsed $4, the first time it’s done so since 2022, and it jumped another 4 cents overnight to $4.06, according to motor club AAA.
Yet before........