WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in August, but momentum could ease amid labor market weakness and rising goods prices because of tariffs on imports.

Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an upwardly revised 0.6% advance in July, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, rising 0.2% following a previously reported 0.5% gain in June.

Some of the rise in retail sales last month was probably due to tariff-driven price increases rather than volumes.

The government reported last week that consumer prices increased by the most in seven months in August, with strong rises in the costs of food and apparel among other products. T

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