US Retail Sales Unexpectedly Flat in April

US retail sales were unexpectedly flat in April as higher gasoline prices pulled spending away from other goods, indicating that consumer spending was losing momentum.

The unchanged reading in retail sales last month followed a slightly downwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in March, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Wednesday. Retail sales were previously reported to have risen 0.7 percent in March.

Economists polled by…