March retail sales blew past expectations 

Retail sales in March exceeded expectations, according to new numbers released by the Commerce Department on Monday.

The latest estimates are Ministry of Commerce Retail sales were shown to have increased by 0.7% in March, more than double the previous year. consensus estimation Increased by 0.3% from last month. Retail sales in March exceeded expectations but were slightly lower than the 0.9% increase in retail sales in February.

The ministry revised its retail sales growth rate for February to 0.9% from 0.6%, according to estimates released on Monday. The increase in overall retail sales comes after sales fell 1.1% in January.

According to the ministry, total sales in the January-March period increased by 2.1% compared to the same period last year.

The increase in retail sales suggests that Americans have not lost their appetite for spending despite rising inflation.

The latest retail sales figures were released just a week after new Labor Department figures showed an increase in inflation in March. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a commonly used measure of inflation, rose 0.4% last month, bringing the annual rate to 3.5%.

This continued the trend of rising inflation despite an overall decline in inflation from its peak in 2022. Consumer prices rose 3.2% in February compared to the same month last year, and rose 3.1% in January.