WASHINGTON — Consumers picked up their spending in June after an earlier pullback, despite anxiety over tariffs and the state of the U.S. economy.
Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in June, the Commerce Department said Thursday, after two consecutive months of spending declines, a 0.1% pullback in April and a 0.9% slowdown in May.
Earlier in the year, strong retail sales were driven by car sales as Americans attempted to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s 25% duty on imported cars and car parts.
The erratic spending is taking place during a period of mixed signals about the economy as well. The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March, but the U.S. job market is proving to be very resilient, and major tariffs keep getting postponed.
Americans continue to spend in that environment with a heavy focus on necessities, rather than electronics or new