Perfect ending to summer consumption, U.S. retail sales have increased for three consecutive months.

In August, retail sales in the United States continued to grow for the third consecutive month, with a broad range of growth, putting an end to a strong summer of consumer spending. Data released by the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday showed that retail purchases without factoring in inflation increased by 0.6% in August, following the same increase recorded in July, surpassing all expectations in a survey of economists by Bloomberg. Excluding car sales, retail sales in August increased by 0.7%. Of the 13 retail categories, 9 categories experienced growth, with online retailers, clothing stores, and sports goods stores leading the way, potentially reflecting back-to-school shopping demand. Despite some economists predicting that car sales would drag down overall data, sales in this category still saw a slight increase, although the growth rate was relatively slower. The report released on Tuesday further confirms that despite pressures such as increased tariffs affecting the costs of certain goods, low consumer confidence, and signs of weakness in the labor market, American consumers' willingness to spend remains strong. Although wage growth has slowed down, the majority of workers are still seeing salary increases higher than the rate of inflation. Furthermore, some groups (especially those with higher incomes) are benefiting from the wealth effect brought about by the rise in the stock market. Consumer spending supports two-thirds of economic activity in the United States, so Federal Reserve officials closely monitor this indicator when determining the direction of interest rate policies. Currently, the Fed is still evaluating the ultimate impact of Donald Trump's tariff policy on prices, but the market widely expects an interest rate cut to be announced at the end of the two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday in order to protect the labor market from further deterioration. Following the release of this report, US stock futures continued to rise, and US Treasury bond yields also increased. The retail sales report showed that "core retail sales" (an indicator used in calculating GDP that excludes certain categories) increased by 0.7% in August, suggesting a solid start to the US economy in the third quarter. Core retail sales exclude categories such as food services, car dealerships, home improvement stores, and gas stations. Retail sales data mainly reflect the purchase of goods, which make up about one-third of overall consumer spending. Since this data does not account for inflation, the growth in sales may also include the impact of rising prices. Multiple categories covered in the report (including clothing and cars) saw consumer prices rise in August. A report on actual consumption of goods and services in August will be released later this month. It is worth noting that after a decrease in July, sales in food services (the only service category covered in the retail report) rebounded by 0.7% in August. Inflation data released last week showed that many companies chose not to raise prices in August. This was due to concerns that significant price increases could lead to loss of consumers.