Recession fears revived as store sales tumble

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Monthly retail sales suffered a surprising drop last month as American households continued to curtail their spending amid higher energy and food prices and a weakening jobs market.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that total retail sales fell 0.6%, compared to a revised 0.4% increase in January. January sales were originally reported to have increased 0.3%.


…Higher food prices resulted in a 0.3% decrease in grocery store sales last month.

Gasoline station purchases, which have been bolstered recently by record-high fuel prices, also tumbled 1%.

Hoyt said consumers were responding to escalating gas prices by either cutting back on car usage or combining trips. “New car sales data also shows that more consumers are looking to buy fuel-efficient models,” he said.

CNN