Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A new economic report could pressure the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates  again.

The U.S. Census Bureau said retail sales surged 3% in January.

That surpasses the 1.8% economists had estimated, and it follows a slight decline in December. The turnaround could have been helped by the strong labor market and post-holiday discounts, as well as good weather.

January retail sales were 6.4% higher than last year when the COVID-19 omicron variant was surging.

The Fed could raise interest rates again to cool demand.