U.S. retail sales last month were broadly flat compared to the previous month, which was positive.
In the United States, record inflation continues, and attention will be paid to how future trends in personal consumption will affect the pace of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve Board, the central bank.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 17th that last month's retail sales were $682.8 billion, or about 92 trillion yen in Japanese yen.
Compared to the previous month, which was positive, it was almost flat.
The breakdown shows that sales at "gas stations" decreased by 1.8% due to lower gasoline prices, and "automobile sales" also decreased by 1.6%, but "online shopping" increased by 2.7%.
In the United States, consumer prices rose 8.5% last month compared to the same month last year, a slower rate of growth than in the previous month, but inflation is still on record.
The FRB has indicated that it will continue to raise interest rates to curb inflation, but it will be interesting to see how trends in consumer spending will affect the pace of interest rate hikes in the future.