(Washington) Retail sales grew a little less than expected in May in the United States, while those for April were revised downward, a sign that consumption is stalling, between the still high inflation, and high rates.
U.S. household spending totaled $703.1 billion in May, up 0.1% from April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
Analysts saw them rising 0.2%, according to the Market Watch consensus.
Those for April, which had initially been announced as stable compared to March, were also revised downwards, showing a contraction of 0.2%.
Year-on-year, retail sales grew 2.3%.
In May, American consumers spent more money on sports equipment, musical instruments and books, as well as on cars. Their spending on gasoline at the pump, however, has fallen, as have their spending on furniture and decoration.
Retail sales are not adjusted for inflation.
This slowed down again in April and May, after a rebound this winter. It stood at 3.3% over one year in May compared to 3.4% in April, according to the CPI index, on which pensions are indexed.
This could signal a rate cut in the coming months, which would allow households to borrow money more cheaply.
But the American central bank (Fed) insisted on Wednesday, at the end of its meeting, that it would have to observe several months of inflation progress towards the 2% objective, before considering lowering rates. .
These, which dictate the evolution of interest rates on real estate, automobile and consumer loans, among others, were maintained in the range of 5.25 to 5.50%, their highest level since over 20 years old.
And Fed officials have signaled they expect just one cut this year.
