Update
US Retail Sales Data Released
US retail and food services sales rose 0.8 percent in September after an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in August. Petrol station receipts rose 6.4 percent; all other retail sales rose 0.2 percent. The control group, which excludes vehicles, fuel, building materials and restaurants and feeds into the consumer spending estimate in GDP, rose 0.1 percent after 1.2 percent in August. These figures indicate a combination of inflationary pressures and underlying consumer spending challenges, keeping the Federal Reserve leaning towards another rate hike later this year.