US Retail Sales Rise for 3rd Straight Month on Higher Gas Prices

Consumer spending remained robust, even excluding the pain at the pump.

Traffic moves past a gas station in Los Angeles on March 11, 2026. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

U.S. retail sales rose for the third consecutive month in April, but new government figures suggest consumers could be keeping an eye on their spending.

Last month’s retail sales rose by 0.5 percent, from the downwardly revised 1.6 percent spike in March, according to new data from the Census Bureau released on May 14.