Gas sales push US retail spending up in August

U.S. consumer spending picked up in August, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday.

August’s retail numbers were up .6%, a slightly accelerated pace from July’s .5% bump.

This is .3% higher than analysts anticipated in retail spending gain for the month.

The Commerce Department pointed to gas station sales as the main driving force behind rising retail spending, noting the sector moved forward 5.2% in August.