US consumer spending growth slows amid rocketing prices 

The softer-than-expected report may also reflect the pulling forward of holiday period sales as many Americans, aware of supply-chain slowdowns, shopped earlier than usual.

US retail sales rose by less than forecast in November, suggesting that consumers are tempering purchases against a backdrop of the fastest inflation in decades.

The value of overall retail purchases increased 0.3%, the smallest advance in four months after a revised 1.8% gain in October, US Commerce Department figures showed. Excluding gas and motor vehicles, sales climbed 0.2% in November. 

The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

The softer-than-expected report may also reflect the pulling forward of holiday period sales as many Americans, aware of supply-chain slowdowns, shopped earlier than usual. In October, the sales increase was the strongest in seven months.

“Crowding more holiday shopping earlier in the fall does not change our estimate for stellar consumer performance in the final quarter of the year, barring a harsher-than-expected impact from Omicron and higher inflation,” Bloomberg Economics’ Yelena Shulyatyeva and Eliza Winger said in a note.

US consumer prices are rising at the fastest rate in almost 40 years. Accelerating inflation risks may give consumers additional pause in coming months, especially as remaining fiscal supports like a moratorium on federal student loan payments end early next year.

The figures surfaced ahead of a decision by Fed policy makers as to whether they should accelerate the pullback of monetary stimulus in the face of faster inflation.

Five of the 13 retail categories showed declines in receipts last month, led by a drop at electronics and appliances merchants.

- Bloomberg