U.S. retail sales rise despite surging inflation

A customer shops at a supermarket in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Retail sales in the United States climbed 1.3 percent in October, representing the largest increase since February and more than the 1 percent consensus among economists.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumers continued to spend in October despite brutally high inflation.

Retail sales in the United States climbed 1.3 percent in October, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The number represented the largest increase since February and more than the 1 percent consensus among economists.

Retail sales ticked upward 8.3 percent since the same month a year ago, a slight drop from September's 8.6 percent.

U.S. consumers increased spending on goods including autos, furniture, groceries and gas, but scaled back their spending on electronics and home appliances, as well as on department stores and sporting goods stores, according to the Census Bureau.

Despite the worst inflation in four decades and record-high gas prices, much of the year has seen robust consumer spending.

The report demonstrates that consumers are still exercising a pent-up desire to shop, which was caused by the COVID-19 crisis, according to Eugenio Aleman, chief economist for Raymond James, as reported by CNN.

"The fact that they were limited in their consumption alternatives before, for almost three years, is having a big impact on consumers' decisions to continue to spend," Aleman said.

At the same time, consumers are getting further into debt.

On Tuesday, the New York Federal Reserve released data that showed U.S. credit card debt rose 15 percent in the third quarter since the same quarter last year.

That's the highest in over two decades.