WASHINGTON - Spending at US retailers fell in March as consumers pulled back after the banking crisis fueled recession fears, adding to signs of a slowing economy, CNN reported.
The US Commerce Department reported on Friday that retail sales fell 1 percent in March from the prior month, steeper than an expected 0.4 percent decline.
Economists at the Federal Reserve expected the US economy to head into a recession later in the year, as the lagged effects of higher interest rates take a deeper hold. Fed economists had forecast subdued growth, with risks of a recession, prior to the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
