US consumer spending picked up again in July as retail sales advanced 0.5% from the prior month, matching economists’ expectations and extending June’s upwardly revised 0.9% gain, according to Commerce Department data released Friday. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 3.9% higher. The increase was broad-based but led by a 1.6% jump at auto dealers, where buyers hurried to lock in purchases before tariff-driven price hikes and the looming expiry of federal electric-vehicle tax credits. Sales at online and other non-store retailers climbed 0.8%, helped by extended discount events at Amazon and Walmart. Excluding autos, overall sales rose 0.3%. Core “control-group” sales—which feed directly into GDP calculations and strip out autos, fuel, food services and building materials—also gained 0.5%, beating the 0.4% consensus and pointing to a solid start for third-quarter consumer spending. June control-group sales were revised up to 0.8%. Import prices rose 0.4% last month and a softening labor market has tempered confidence, raising questions about how long shoppers can withstand higher costs linked to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Even so, the latest figures underscore the consumer sector’s resilience, a key support for an economy facing slower job creation and factory output.