US retail sales rise sharply in January

ANKARA

US retail sales rose sharply in January, coming way above market expectations, according to figures released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

Retail sales came in at $649.8 billion, increasing 3.8% from the previous month’s revised figure of $626.3 billion.

The market expectation for January was a 2% gain, while the decline in December 2021 was revised further down to a 2.5% decrease, from a contraction of 1.9%.

"Gasoline stations were up 33.4% from January 2021, while food services and drinking places were up 27% from last year," the Census Bureau said in a statement.

The sharp gain in retail sales suggests that consumer demand is still high in the US, which causes inflation.

While US consumer prices rose 7.5% year-on-year in January, marking the largest 12-month increase since February 1982, annual producer prices stood at 9.7%.

ANKARA

US retail sales rose sharply in January, coming way above market expectations, according to figures released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

Retail sales came in at $649.8 billion, increasing 3.8% from the previous month’s revised figure of $626.3 billion.

The market expectation for January was a 2% gain, while the decline in December 2021 was revised further down to a 2.5% decrease, from a contraction of 1.9%.

"Gasoline stations were up 33.4% from January 2021, while food services and drinking places were up 27% from last year," the Census Bureau said in a statement.

The sharp gain in retail sales suggests that consumer demand is still high in the US, which causes inflation.

While US consumer prices rose 7.5% year-on-year in January, marking the largest 12-month increase since February 1982, annual producer prices stood at 9.7%.