Consumer spending bounced back in January as rising inflation and a post-holiday surge kept cash registers ringing, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Retail sales for the month rose 3.8%, higher than the 2.1% Dow Jones estimate.
The numbers are not adjusted for inflation, so the 7.5% rise in the consumer price index for the month helped push a reversal from the 2.5% decline in December, which was revised lower from the initially reported 1.9% drop.
Excluding auto sales, the retail gain was 3.3%, after falling 2.8% in the previous month.
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