Sluggish sales, higher prices goose inflation

Confirmation of the slowing pace of the U.S. economy came this morning in the form of poor growth in retail sales and large jumps in the producer price index. Retail sales growth crept at a snail's pace in June of just 0.1%, led by large downturns in the sales of consumer durables, according to a statement from the Commerce Department. Automobile sales lost the most ground, down 3.3% from May. Food and beverages sales grew at 0.7% while skyrocketing oil prices pushed up gasoline sales by 4.6%. The producer price index for June brought more bad news for the economy, posting an increase of 1.8% as inflation took its toll, according to another Commerce Department report. The PPI is a measure of prices that domestic producers pay for their goods and services. Growth in the PPI was driven by more rapid increases in energy prices (6% in June) and crude goods, the prices of which also grew by 3.7% in June. Food goods also posted price growth in June of 1.5%.