Consumers barely increased spending in May from April as still high prices on groceries and other necessities and high interest rates curbed spending. Retail sales rose 0.1% in May, below the pace that economists projected, according to the Commerce Department. And April sales were revised downward — a 0.2% decline, from unchanged. Sales rose 0.6% in March and 0.9% in February. That comes after sales fell 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather. Excluding gas prices and auto sales, retail sales rose the same amount. Retail sales in May, in part, were depressed by falling gas prices. Excluding sales ... (full story)