Economics
Retail Sales Show U.S. Spending Solid But No Longer Gangbusters
- October figure tops estimates; prior months revised downward
- Increase in ‘control group’ subset is less than projected
A customer pulls a cart of plywood outside a Home Depot Inc. store in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Americans are still shopping -- just not at the gangbusters pace seen earlier in the year.
October retail sales rose by the most in five months, driven by automobiles, fuel and building materials following hurricanes that restrained spending, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. A measure of underlying demand known as the control group advanced by less than forecast, and downward revisions to the prior months’ data also put a damper on the overall picture.