U.S. retail sales rose 0.8% month-over-month in September, exceeding market expectations of 0.3%, and were up 6.3% year-over-year, data released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed. However, core retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, grew by only 0.2%, while "control group" sales, which reflect GDP goods consumption, increased by only 0.1% month-over-month, a significant drop from August. This was primarily driven by high oil prices, with several consumer categories such as apparel, home improvement, furniture, and food services experiencing contraction during the same period, indicating that the inflationary squeeze is spreading to household discretionary spending. The Labor Department's report on the same day showed that U.S. producer prices in September saw their largest increase in over four years, further highlighting inflationary pressures.