NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers spent at a healthy pace in July, particularly at the nation’s auto dealerships, as they shrug off President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which are starting to take a toll on jobs and lead to some price increases.

Retail sales rose 0.5 percent last month, a slowdown from a revised 0.9 percent in June, which was revised upward, according to the Commerce Department. The pace in July matched economists’ estimates.

The increases followed two consecutive months of spending declines: a 0.1 percent pullback in April and a 0.9 percent slowdown in May.

Excluding auto sales, which have been volatile since Trump imposed tariffs on many foreign-made cars, retail sales rose 0.3 percent.

Auto sales rose 1.6 percent. They appear to have returned roughly to normalized spending after a surge in March and April as Americans attempted to get ahead of Trump’s 25 percent duty on imported cars and parts and then a slump after that, according to Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The data showed solid spending across many retail sectors. Business at clothing stores was up 0.7 percent while online retailers saw a 0.8 percent increase. Business at home furnishings and furniture stores rose 1.4 percent.

However, at electronics stores, sales were down 0.6 percent. Business at restaurants, the lone services component within the Census Bureau report and a barometer of discretionary spending, fell 0.4 percent, however, as shoppers are focusing on eating at home to save money.

Still, spending appears to be holding up even as Trump’s tariffs are resulting in a slowdown in hiring and rising prices for shoppers.

Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in July from a year earlier, the same as the previous month and up from a post-pandemic low of 2.3 percent in April. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1 percent, up from 2.9 percent in June. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.

On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2 percent in July, down from 0.3 percent the previous month, while core prices ticked up 0.3 percent, a bit faster than the 0.2 percent in June.

The new numbers suggest that slowing rent increases and cheaper gas are offsetting some impacts of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

Many businesses also likely are still absorbing much of the cost of the duties. The consumer price figures likely reflect some impact from the 10 percent universal tariff Trump imposed in April, as well as higher duties on countries such as China and Canada.

The report comes as major retailers such as Walmart and Target are slated to report their fiscal second-quarter earnings reports starting this week. Analysts will study the reports to see how much retailers are absorbing the costs and how much they’re passing on to shoppers. They’ll also want to get insight into the state of consumer behavior heading into the critical fall and winter holiday seasons.