Lower gas prices fail to spur spending

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Falling gas prices have not encouraged U.S. consumers to run out on shopping sprees, retail data shows.

Although gasoline prices have dropped nearly 50 percent from their peak of $4.114 in July, U.S. retail sales still fell 2.8 percent in October, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday.

Falling gasoline prices or not, "I don't think anyone who's been paying attention for the last eight years would think that now is the time to go out and buy a Hummer," Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for AAA, told The New York Times.

Celeste Vazquez of Cleveland said she worked 10 hours overtime each week when gas prices soared in the summer. Now that prices are down, "I finally get to spend time with my kids, which is wonderful," she said.

"I doubt it will last, though," she said. "I'm not about to go buy a new wardrobe or anything."

"It would be very surprising if (the economy) recovered based solely on gasoline prices," Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis of MasterCard Advisors, told the Times.