Retail Sales Up For 10th Straight Month In April

[Purveyor]

(05-12) 06:12 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

Consumers spent more on gasoline, clothing and autos in April, pushing retail sales up for a 10th straight month. But much of the gain came from a surge in gasoline and food prices.

Retail sales rose 0.5 percent in April after a 0.9 percent increase in March, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding a 2.7 percent jump in gasoline sales, the increase was a much smaller 0.2 percent.

Pump prices have been surging in recent months. The nationwide average has hovered slightly below $4 per gallon. Economists are worried that higher fuel costs will leave motorists with less money to spend on other discretionary goods and that will slow economic growth.

Grocery stores sales jumped 1.5 percent — triple the March increase. That partly reflected higher food prices.

MORE...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/12/national/w061240D46.DTL

[Skink]

1. isn't paying interest on gas fun.