WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers picked up their spending in June after an earlier pullback, according to a new federal government report.

Retail sales in June rose a better-than-expected 0.6 percent, according to the Commerce Department, after two consecutive months of spending declines, a 0.1 percent pullback in April and a 0.9 percent slowdown in May.

Earlier in the year, increased retail sales were driven by car sales as Americans attempted to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s 25 percent duty on imported cars and car parts.

The erratic spending is taking place during a period of mixed signals about the economy as well. The economy shrank at a 0.5 percent annual pace from January through March, but the job market is proving to be resilient and major tariffs keep getting postponed.

Americans continue to spend in that environment with a heavy focus on necessities, rather than electronics or new appliances.

Consumers, though, haven’t stopped spending on nonessential goods. Sales at restaurants, the lone services component within the Census Bureau report and a barometer of discretionary spending, rose moderately.

“Consumers are only feeling a modest amount of pressure from tariffs, and any weakness here is not having much of an effect in forcing them to pull back on more discretionary areas of spending such as restaurants and bars,” wrote William Blair’s macro analyst Richard de Chazal.

Chazal said he fears that the administration may picking up false assurances from strong consumer spending. Consumer sentiment and markets have tumbled after tariff announcements.

Retail sales in June included a 1.2 percent gain in sales of autos and auto parts. Spending expanded across most major categories, including clothing and personal care. Excluding autos and automotive parts, sales rose 0.5 percent, according to the Commerce Department

Clothing and accessories sales rose 0.9 percent, while health and personal care sales saw a 0.5 percent bump. Online retailers recorded a 0.4 percent gain.

Electronics and appliance retailers, furniture stores and department stores all saw sales declines.

A category of sales that excludes volatile sectors such as gas, cars and restaurants rose last month by 0.5 percent from the previous month. The figure feeds into the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s consumption estimate and is sign that consumers are still spending on some discretionary items.

Heather Long, the chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, noted that layoffs remain low and consumers are still confident enough that the economy is chugging along.

“Don’t count the American consumer out yet,” said Long in a statement. “There’s still a lot of trepidation about tariffs and likely price hikes, but consumers are willing to buy if they feel they can get a good deal. The word of the summer for the economy is resilient.”

The retail sales report arrives amid changing tariffs have that impacted businesses and households.

For businesses, that has made it more difficult to manage supply and inventories. Americans are focusing more on necessities, when they do shop.

The latest government report showed that inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the costs of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances.

Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said last week, up from an annual increase of 2.4 percent in May.

On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3 percent from May to June, after rising just 0.1 percent the previous month.

Retailers are now turning their attention to the back-to-school shopping season, which is the second largest consumer rush after the winter holidays.

Coresight Research estimates that total back-to-school spending will increase by 3.3 percent year compared with the year-ago period, to $33.3 billion. It also predicts that some shoppers will do their shopping before August to get ahead of tariffs.