April’s slight rebound further illustrates the difficulty the Federal Reserve has had in bringing inflation under control.

Compared to the prior year, sales were up 1.6% above April, 2022. Total sales, including food services, were $686.1 billion for April.

Retail sales increased 0.4% in April from March when it was down 0.7%. It marked the first increase since January when unusually warm weather and a big jump in Social Security benefits likely spurred more spending.

Inflation slowed for a tenth straight month in April as another drop in grocery bills offset a rebound in gasoline costs, providing some relief to Americans squeezed by a two-year run-up in prices.