Spending up as inflation flat
July 14, 2005
The US economy got two bits of good news on Thursday as new data showed that retail sales were up and inflation remained in check.
The consumer spending figure is especially important since it accounts for around 70 percent of all US economic activity and is thus an important indicator of the economy’s health.
According to the Department of Commerce, retail sales grew by 1.7 percent in in June, above the 0.9 percent forecast by Wall Street.
The core rate of inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, grew at a very small 0.1 percent.