U.S. retail sales increased 0.5 percent, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday, after rising 1.1 percent in September. That was above economists’ expectations for a 0.3 percent rise. In a separate report, the Labor Department said its producer price index fell 0.3 percent last month after rising 0.8 percent in September. Economists had expected the PPI to fall only 0.1 percent.
The rise in retail sales provided some hope that growth in the economy was gaining some momentum. A drop in wholesale prices was seen as a sign that inflation concerns remains low.
Source: Reuters
