Retail Sales Fell Last Month

By Jessica Coacci

Sales growth at U.S. retailers fell in July after a modest increase in June, the Commerce Department said.

Retailers' sales fell by 0.6% last month to $763.6 billion, versus the 0.2% growth recorded in June. July's reading was lower than what economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected.

Retail sales numbers are recorded in nominal terms and account for the total number of dollars spent. In July, on and off peace talks in Iran caused a retreat in gasoline prices.

Spending at electronic and appliance stores fell 0.5% from the previous month. Spending in other discretionary categories, such as furniture and home furniture stores rose 0.3%.

Some economists predicted weaker retail sales in July. Bank of America's credit and debit card spending per household rose 5% year-over-year, down from 6.3% in June.

The consumer-inflation rate cooled to 3.4% in July, the Labor Department said Wednesday, lower than June's 3.5%. Overall, consumer spending has generally held up well despite a series of ongoing supply shocks across the U.S. economy, more recently from higher gasoline prices stemming from the conflict in Iran.

Write to Jessica Coacci at jessica.coacci@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2026 08:43 ET (12:43 GMT)