According to the Federal Reserve, the volume of industrial production in the United States in October decreased by 0.1% compared to the previous month. Analysts on average predicted an increase of 0.2%. In addition, industrial capacity utilization decreased to 79.9% from the revised September figure of 80.1%. Analysts expected it at 80.4%. The Fed also presented statistics on retail sales: they, excluding cars, increased by 1.3% in October after an increase of 0.1% in September. The indicator excluding cars and fuel increased by 0.9% compared with an increase of 0.6% a month earlier. Sales of cars and auto parts increased by 1.3%, sales at gas stations increased by 4.1%. Sales of building materials increased by 1.1%, as did sales in furniture stores. At the same time, electronics sales decreased by 0.3%. In annual terms, the total volume of retail sales in the United States increased by 8.3%. In September, retail sales grew by 8.6%. Analysts note that recent data point to the sustainability of consumer spending, despite high inflation and rising borrowing costs, which put pressure on demand.
