US consumers pulled back in June as months of higher costs weighed on households, government data showed on Thursday, cooling retail sales while further uncertainty looms from the Middle East war.

Retail sales ticked up by 0.2 percent month-on-month to US$768.6 billion, in line with analysts' expectations, said the country's Commerce Department.

But this was a notable deceleration from the one-percent jump in May, the report added.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales dropped by 0.2 percent.

Spending also fell at food and beverage stores, alongside health and personal care shops, the department added.

While sales at gasoline stations tumbled by 5.3 percent between May and June, this downturn coincided with a decline in energy costs amid hopes of a lasting ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

But hostilities have since resumed, sending prices higher again.

US-Israel strikes targeting Iran since late February had sparked Tehran's pushback in nearly closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy transport. Energy costs surged in the aftermath. (AFP)


Edited by Aaron Tam