Americans cut back sharply on their spending last month amid tariffs

Americans are feeling a hangover from their tariff-fueled buying frenzy early in the spring.

Retail sales fell by 0.9% in May from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, down sharply from April’s downwardly revised 0.1% decline. That was the steepest monthly decline since January and worse than the 0.7% decrease economists projected in a poll by data firm FactSet.

The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.