Consumer spending jumped in July as retail sales were up 1%, much better than expected

Consumer spending held up even better than expected in July as inflation pressures showed more signs of easing, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Advanced retail sales accelerated 1% on the month, according to numbers that are adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a 0.3% increase. June sales were revised to a decline of 0.2% after initially being reported as flat.

Excluding auto-related items, sales increased 0.4%, also better than the 0.1% forecast.

There was also good news on the labor market front: Initial unemployment benefit claims for the week ended Aug. 10 totaled 227,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week and lower than the estimate for 235,000.

Gains in sales were propelled by increases at motor vehicle and parts dealers (3.6%), electronics and appliance stores (1.6%), and food and beverage outlets (0.9%). Miscellaneous retailers saw a plunge of 2.5% while gas stations saw receipts climb just 0.1% and clothing stores were down 0.1%.

Stock market futures rose sharply following the Thursday morning data releases, while Treasury yields spiked as well.

"Once again, this was further evidence that the U.S. consumer still has the ability to surprise to the upside," wrote Richard de Chazal, macro analyst at William Blair. "This was another solid report, and inconsistent with a consumer who is on the brink of collapse."

The report comes the same week as data showing that inflation eased slightly in July.

Prices that consumers pay for goods and services increased 0.2% on the month, and the annual inflation rate declined to 2.9%, its lowest since March 2021. At the same time, wholesale prices were up just 0.1% on the month and 2.2% on the year.

While the