US retail sales soared in March by the most in a year, boosted by a surge in gasoline station receipts and better-than-expected spending in other categories.
The value of overall retail purchases increased 1.7% following a revised 0.7% gain in February, according to a Commerce Department report published Tuesday. The data are not adjusted for inflation.
The March increase was led by a 15.5% jump in spending on gas as the Iran war pushed fuel prices to the highest levels since 2022. Excluding gas stations, sales rose 0.6%.
The report suggests consumer spending remained firm last month despite the surge in gas prices. That strength likely reflects larger-than-usual tax refunds flowing into households’ bank accounts in recent weeks. Economists caution the boost may prove temporary as tax season winds down, fuel costs remain elevated and hiring stays subdued.
Nearly all of the 13 categories, from furniture to electronics to general merchandise, posted increases. Motor vehicle sales rose 0.5%. Receipts at restaurants and bars, the only service-sector category in the report, advanced 0.1%.
High-frequency card data have been mixed in recent weeks. Reports from PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and the Bank of America Institute pointed to strength in spending in discretionary categories such as travel and electronics, while Visa’s Spending Momentum Index suggested that — excluding gas — spending across discretionary, non-discretionary and restaurant categories declined.
The retail sales report showed so-called control-group sales — which feed into the government’s calculation of gross domestic product — were up 0.7%, the most since August. The measure excludes food services, auto dealers, building materials stores and gasoline stations.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish its first estimate of first-quarter GDP on April 30.
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