Dive Summary:
- U.S. consumers increased retail spending in April following slowed spending in March to close out the first quarter for 2013.
- Despite a rise of only 0.1% total for April, spending rose 0.7% when factoring out sales totals from gasoline stations.
- Clothing and auto sales contributed the most to the boost in consumer spending following a 0.5% decline in March.
From the article:
Americans increased their spending in April at retail businesses, buying more cars and clothes after cutting purchases in March. The Commerce Department says retail sales edged up 0.1 percent in April. That's an improvement from the 0.5 percent decline in March, the largest in nine months.
