After beginning the year in a buying mood, Americans slowed their spending in February as prices for food, gasoline, toothpaste and just about everything else continue to rise.
Retail sales increased 0.3% after registering a revised 4.9% jump from December to January, fueled by wage gains, solid hiring and more money in banking accounts, according to the Commerce Department. January's increase was the biggest jump in spending since last March, when American households received a final federal stimulus check of $1,400.
Business at restaurants rose 2.5% in February, while online sales fell 3.7%. Department stores saw a 1.6% increase.
And there are new pressures that could send prices even higher, namely the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Western companies have pulled out of Russia after it sent tank columns toward the capital of Kyiv and heavily shelled the southern seaport of Mariupol and other urban centers.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that consumer inflation, propelled by surging costs for gas, food and housing, jumped 7.9% over the past year, the sharpest spike since 1982. That 12-month period ended in February, meaning it does not include most of the oil and gas price increases that followed the start of Russia's war on Feb. 24.
