U.S. consumers spent $757.1 billion on retail and food services in April, a 0.5% increase over March, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

The consumer price index was expected to increase by 3.7% annually in April, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

Prices for consumer goods rose faster than expected in April, with food and energy prices driving the spike, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

Shoppers pulled back on spending in April as higher gas prices fueled by the Iran war meant less money left over for nonessential goods.

Retail sales rose 0.5% in April, a slowdown from the revised growth level of 1.6% in March, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday. March marked the largest…

Retail sales in April were up 0.5% compared to the month before and are up 4.9% from a year ago. We’ll dig into the data.

U.S. consumers spent $757.1 billion on retail and food services in April, a 0.5% increase over March, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.