U.S. Retail Sales Up 0.2% in September, Below Forecast

U.S. retail sales increased by 0.2 percent in September compared with August, marking a modest slowdown after strong gains earlier in the year, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. The data, delayed more than a month by the partial government shutdown, reflects resilient consumer spending tempered by persistent high prices for essentials like groceries, rent and imported goods affected by tariffs.

The September figure fell short of economists' expectations for a 0.4 percent rise. Sales had jumped 0.6 percent in both July and August, and 1 percent in June, as households front-loaded purchases during the summer. Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services and align closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, declined 0.1 percent in September after a revised 0.6 percent increase the prior month.

Economists anticipate that the overall uptick in spending will contribute to third-quarter economic growth of 3 percent or higher on an annualized basis, a rebound from the 1.6 percent expansion in the first half of the year. Consumer spending remains a primary engine of the U.S. economy,...