NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers stepped up their spending in July, particularly at the nation's auto dealerships.
Retail sales rose 0.5% last month, a slowdown from a revised 0.9% in June, according to the Commerce Department's report released Friday.
The increases followed two consecutive months of spending declines — a 0.1% pullback in April and a 0.9% slowdown in May.
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Excluding auto sales, which have been volatile since President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on many foreign-made cars. retail sales rose 0.3%.
Auto sales rose 1.6%. They appear to have returned roughly to normalized spending after a surge in March and April as Americans attempted to get ahead of Trump's 25% duty on imported cars and parts and then a slump after that, according to Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Business at clothing stores was up 0.7% while at electronics stores, sales were down 0.6%. Online retailers saw a 0.8% increase.