US retail, food sales up 0.6%

U.S. retail and food services sales rose 0.6 percent in May, which the Department of Commerce called evidence of the ongoing economic recovery. The department reported on Thursday that combined retail and food services increased 0.6 percent from April to seasonally adjusted 421.1 billion U.S. dollars in May. The figure represented a 4.3 percent increase from a year earlier, said the department. Excluding autos, retail and food services sales in May stood at 342.1 billion dollars, up 0.3 percent from April and up 3.4 percent from a year earlier. Consumer spending accounted for about 70 percent of the total activity in the world's largest economy, which analysts say is on track of recovery from the worst recession in decades.