Filed by KOSU News in Business.
September 15, 2009

Retail sales jumped a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent in August, spurred by widespread gains beyond the increases of autos and gasoline that economists expected. A separate gauge showed wholesale inflation rose by 1.7 percent last month, boosted by energy prices.

The Commerce Department’s retail sales report is a sign that consumers may be less cautious about spending as the economy recovers.

Analysts’ had expected a 2 percent increase, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Sales declined 0.2 percent in July.

Excluding autos, sales rose 1.1 percent in August, ahead of an expected 0.4 percent jump. Excluding autos and gas, sales rose 0.6 percent.

Sales rose at auto dealers due mainly to government’s popular Cash for Clunkers program and at gas stations. Electronics and appliance stores, department stores, and sporting goods stores also posted gains.

Energy Boosts Producer Prices

In a separate report, the Labor Department said inflation at the wholesale level shot up at double the expected rate in August as gasoline prices soared by the largest amount in a decade.

The increase wasn’t seen as a signal that inflation was in danger of becoming a problem, however, given the economy’s continued weakness.

The Labor Department says that wholesale prices rose by 1.7 percent in August, sharply higher than the 0.8 percent rise economists had forecast. Wholesale prices had fallen by 0.9 percent in July.

Both months were heavily impacted by energy prices.

Excluding volatile energy and food costs, core inflation posted a more modest 0.2 percent increase, close to the 0.1 percent advance economists had expected. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press