Retail sales rise 0.8% in September, lifted by gasoline
Jobless claims stay near 199,000 as spending outside fuel and cars cools.
Economy · Thursday, October 15, 2026 · 10:15 AM ET
Americans kept spending in September, though much of the gain went to gasoline. Retail sales rose 0.8% after a revised 1.3% jump in August, the Commerce Department said Thursday (AP, CNBC). Economists had expected 0.3% to 0.4%, depending on the survey (AP citing FactSet, CNBC).
Gasoline did the lifting
AP said a big chunk of the spending went to gas pump bills. CNBC reported that sales excluding autos and gas stations rose 0.25%, down from about 1.1% in August, a sign that high fuel prices may be making shoppers tighten up elsewhere. CNN noted that retail sales are not adjusted for inflation, and that prices rose 0.6% in September. Benzinga reported that the control group, which feeds into GDP estimates, rose just 0.1%.
Layoffs stay low
Initial jobless claims for the week ended October 10 rose by 1,000 to 199,000, the Labor Department said (AP). Economists had expected about 200,000 (Reuters via Boursorama, Benzinga). The four-week average was 198,500 and continuing claims were about 1.71 million (AP, Benzinga).
The data landed alongside the producer price report and the CPI report from Wednesday.