Retail sales rose 0.1% in May, below the 0.2% the Dow Jones estimate. Excluding autos, sales declined 0.1%.

Retail spending was weaker than expected in May as consumers continued to wrestle with stubbornly higher levels of inflation.

The report comes with investors on edge about the direction of the economy and what that will mean for the future of monetary policy at the Federal Reserve.

Consumer spending is responsible for about two-thirds of all economic activity, so any weakness could signal both a retrenchment in growth while also pushing the Fed to begin cutting interest rates.