Nov. 16 (UPI) — U.S. retail and food services sales increased 1.3% in October from the previous month and 8.3% more than a year ago, according to a new report from the Commerce Department released Wednesday.
The Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services report said for the third quarter, U.S. consumers rang up sales 8.9% more from August to October than they did in 2021, as well.
The report said $694.5 billion in sales were made in October, compared to $685.8 billion in September, which was flat from the month before.
“Retail trade sales were up 1.2% from September 2022 and up 7.5% above last year,” the report said. “Gasoline stations were up 17.8% from October 2021, while food services and drinking places were up 14.1% from last year.”
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